|
Post by ianmoss on Feb 6, 2014 11:17:03 GMT
Found this, very useful.
|
|
|
Post by wellermj on Feb 6, 2014 13:16:13 GMT
Anything over 10% sounds painful
|
|
|
Post by Radchenister on Feb 6, 2014 14:27:42 GMT
Won't find much over the 3rd red notch on UK roads, even for short blips 25% is nasty.
|
|
|
Post by captslog on Feb 6, 2014 15:21:24 GMT
Won't find much over the 3rd red notch on UK roads, even for short blips 25% is nasty. Yes. If it gets much above that I'm throwing the bike in a hedge and pretending I'm a jogger.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 15:24:46 GMT
After having driven hardknott pass and feeling like I was standing up on the pedals because it was so steep on the way down, I'm not that desperate to get over there with the bike.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 17:55:45 GMT
After having driven hardknott pass and feeling like I was standing up on the pedals because it was so steep on the way down, I'm not that desperate to get over there with the bike. Driving up from the east you can't see over the bonnet to the road on some of the bends. My misses drove down from west to east when we were young and spent a fair bit of it sliding down on the ice. Her knees were knocking. Going uphill was fine. The ice only appeared when dropping off the top. Dodgy as owt.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2014 23:56:32 GMT
Drumbrae (heading south) and Kaimes Road in Edinburgh must be fairly high up there .... Done them both in lowest gear and at walking pace - agony!
|
|
|
Post by captslog on Feb 7, 2014 9:44:27 GMT
A little story. We often went to Wales for our annual holiday. At the time, No2 son fancied himself as a keen cyclist, and to be fair he was quite strong and would give most people a run for their money; the joys of being young and fit. That time we went he took his bike with him to Caernarvon, and enjoyed the cycle route from there towards Pwhelli. But what he really wanted to do was ride down the Great Orme on Llandudno, to be taken up to the top and then do the descent. Now, I don't know if you've ever been there, but this is bloody steep! From the top, it starts off as a 'good hill' and when it gets towards the end it looks like 45 degrees. The trouble is, this last bit finishes in the town, at junctions, there's no run off. He wasn't to be dissuaded and he was past the age when he could be told no. We pleaded with him not to try it but he set off from the top and we wondered if that was the last time we'd see him. However, less than five minutes later we saw him walking back up towards the car park pushing his bike. He's hit a small piece of metal which was embedded in the road and punctured his tyre. He said that he'd just hit 30mph when it happened, and the lack of control had resulted in a bit of grass-tracking. As you've realised, he's a bit gung-ho, but he was actually shaking. We were relieved he'd had to call it off, but we then had to fix the tyre. No2 son carried no spares, it's not cool apparently so we took him into town to find a bike shop. Not easy in a strange town, but Halfords was nice and obvious in a retail park. The chap there fitted a new tube and paled when we explained the circumstances. By this time No2 had got over the fright and was ready for a replay. The chap managed to persuade him not to do it (oh yes, listen to the bloke in Halfords, not your Mum and dad!) and pointed out a great route around the Orme instead. This is a great ride by the way; it's a toll road if you're in a car, and it's one-way only. Lots of up's and downs and it looks like you're somewhere even more foreign than Wales ( ). He still managed 45mph at one point, the lad's a lunatic.
|
|
|
Post by Radchenister on Feb 7, 2014 10:37:22 GMT
I must have become a real road cyclist, because I was wondering why you were talking about descending - then realised that gradients apply down as well as up lol ... although despite what they say on the TV, you'll never go down them as fast as a descent on a serious superbike, been there done that ... I was young and stupid then as well .
|
|
|
Post by captslog on Feb 7, 2014 10:45:36 GMT
I must have become a real road cyclist, because I was wondering why you were talking about descending - then realised that gradients apply down as well as up lol ... although despite what they say on the TV, you'll never go down them as fast as a descent on a serious superbike, been there done that ... I was young and stupid then as well . Me too. I used to ride a Ducati Pantah. Some nights I awake in a cold sweat and wonder how I'm still here.
|
|
|
Post by Radchenister on Feb 7, 2014 10:46:23 GMT
Precisely, there's a few I know (or used to) who aren't.
|
|
|
Post by fatmanona5a on Feb 7, 2014 11:02:38 GMT
Living in a fairly flat area, my interpretation of gradients is "uphill bad, downhill good!" BUT If I ever came across a proper downhill, I would be worried silly! How do you learn about descending, when there is a severe lack of local descents?
|
|
|
Post by Radchenister on Feb 7, 2014 11:18:49 GMT
Just take it easy, better to just get down them than spend months off the bike after stacking it ... you're not racing and it's all over quicker if you really boot it, so no great bonus to be had.
Also, to get a proper descent you usually have to do some proper hill climbing (if on a loop anyway), which is hard work.
I pick my way down them slowly most of the time, actually, every time at this time of year; I may perhaps have a whiz though on balmy summer days ... but ... remember the contact patch on a Triban is just the size of two postage stamps. Also there's no suspension, the wheels and bike flex a bit, the brakes are relatively poor ... so it's all pretty hairy in a proper twisty corner. That's when people crash most, even the people who can descend well get it wrong sometimes, there's very little margin for error on this sort of bike and it's not all the easy cruising straight line fast stuff that counts, it's that one time you get your line wrong in a bend and can't get it back that hurts.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2014 12:52:47 GMT
Condition of the road is important. Hit a pothole at 50 mph and you'll know about it. Gravel on bends dodgy as owt.
|
|
|
Post by captslog on Feb 7, 2014 13:58:02 GMT
Just take it easy, better to just get down them than spend months off the bike after stacking it ... you're not racing and it's all over quicker if you really boot it, so no great bonus to be had. Absolutely agree. Last summer me and son came over a bridge to find the other side had been 'resurfaced'* with loose chippings. I was slightly gravity assisted but wouldn't have liked to have been going any faster. We only just managed to stay on the bikes whilst getting the speed down to a crawl. Nearly soiled my lycra. (*council term for leaving about 1 tonne per square meter of small stones on a perfectly good road surface)
|
|