Sincitycycler

...I'm 6'2" 202 lb novice and I ride out to Red Rock Canyon the 12.4 mile climb on about a 3% -5% hill and I average about 10.6 mph. I try to start NLT than 7:30 am but it's already 85 degrees out here in this friggin desert.

My main question to you larger guys is what is your moderate hill climbing speed? I feel like a sled going up -I am!

Thanks, Sincity

P.S. When I go back down the rolling hills, I blow by alot of people at 30 mph+ for the same 12.4 miles , especially the little guys that pass me going up canyon . At least us big lugs get some kind of reward for dragging all that weight up the "alps"!

mrog71

I'm 6'2" 265, so I guess I quality as a "larger guy". Actually, I qualify as a fata$$ right now too, but anyway....when I'm climbing tough hills like that I can usually maintain between 8 and 11 mph. It really depends on the grade and how hard I'm working. I'm not very good at judging the % of the grade. But I'm also rather inexperienced, but I couldn't resist posting to a topic for us BIG GUYS!!

zakk

honestly, I have no idea. I've dropped to 5mph on steep climbs, and when I'm on the Cervelo I can climb sections at 12-14 mph.

But yes, once I get to the top, 220lbs. + gravity + TT bike = scary fast

Sincitycycler

How tall are you?

kandnhome

I'm 6'2" and 225 (and falling ). 3-5% grade is pretty much standard fare around here (Boston Mtns, in the Ozarks); the hills don't really count as hills until they are >5%, but generally, I'll range from 7-18 mph, depending on the day, the wind, and the hill. 3-5%, if continuous, can really bust a big guy's ass; 3-5% rollers are easy to hammer over.

My ride today had about 6 miles of 5-7% climbs, interspersed with 3 or 4 short downhills. I averaged about 10 mph up, and about 28 on the way down (curvy road).

C_Heath

5'9 and 200 the hills still kill me ...... 7-10 mph

Bad thing is Im spent and it takes a long time to recover once I get up to the top. I get left at the top of the hill.

zakk

5'9" and 196 pounds of lean body mass. each leg is 26" with a 37" waist and a 52" coat



I'm what you call one of those 'corn fed' boys. I'm the smallest of my brothers too. By a lot.

Chef23

I am slow up hills also. I am 6' and 230 (and too fat). I drop to 10-11 mph on tough hills also.

jsharr

6'00", 240 lbs. Not too many big climbs in the Dallas, Texas area, but I average about 16 mph overall (15.7 to be exact) and my speed drops to low teens, upper single digits on climbs.

FLBandit

I'm 6'2" and 215 lbs. I kind of suck as a climber and have gotten down to 6 mph on the largest hill we have in my area. (Of course Florida isn't exactly blessed with hills!) However, I do much better on the descents!

Stubacca

I haven't paid attention to my climbing speed in a long while. I tend to have the computer displaying cadence and clock or distance most of the time, and pay more attention to keeping a high cadence on the climbs. I know I'm getting faster on the hills because I'm pushing the same cadence in a higher gear. If you want to be faster up the hills, just keep riding up the hills.

But at 6' 220ish lbs, whatever I lose in climbing speed I make up for on the way back down!

Olebiker

I am 5'8" and, as of this afternoon, weigh 201. I know, I know; I'm too damned fat. The good news is that I am 30 pounds lighter than I was this time last year and I can tell a big difference in my riding.

In April of 2004 I rode up Neel's Gap in Northern Georgia (part of the Tour de Georgia route) and got down to where I was working to stay up over 5 mph. I just got an E-mail asking me to go with some friends to do the 50 mile version of the Six Gap Century, Three Gap. That will be a good test to see how much the weight loss meant to my climbing.

mrog71

Congrats on losing all the weight! I too am looking to drop a bunch (6'2", 265 trying to get back down to my boot camp weight of 200). Do you think your weight loss directly attributable to your bike riding? I'm trying to use cycling as my vehicle back to being in great shape. I've lost 10 lbs so far.

my58vw

I am 6'6" 223 pounds, 38 inch inseem.

Two bikes, see sig. Most 3% hills depending on the length I can hit them at over 17 MPH +, 17 seems to be the average. 5 - 8% are between 10 - 14 MPH. Last time on a big group ride we hit a 6 - 7% hill and after hammering for 25 miles at a 25 MPH average I climbed that sucker at 9 - 11 MPH. Sunset loop in Redlands California (see Redlands Classic circuit race) I climb at about 10 - 13 MPH, about 5 - 7 percent at times (The pros do it in the big ring).

Now if you are talking true steep hills then I am introuble. On the last itt I did on my cervelo I climbed an 11 - 15 percent 200 - 250 foot hill at about 6 MPH out of the saddle out of gears mashing. Anything over 10 percent is just deal with the pain.

The fastest I have climbed though was McAllister Ave, it is a 4 percent long climb (about 1 mile) during a 4 mile itt at 24 MPH... and I threwup after it...

Everyone climbs at their own pace, that is just how it works... I just love racing people to the top of them.

JJakucyk

I weigh 270 and on a decent hill (probably in the 3-5% range, but that's just a guess) I go around 8-11mph, and I'm 6'-2" tall.

I've been riding since August of 2003 (significantly less in winter), and I haven't lost a single pound. However, I know I've significantly improved my fitness level, and I have built some nice muscles in my legs under the fat that's still there. I'm starting to breeze over smaller hills that used to leave me huffing and puffing. It's the long climbs that can still knock me out, as I can't pace myself properly and I overdo it on the way up.

So I'm not a great hill climber, but I'm getting better. I'm not losing any weight, but I'm not gaining weight either, and I haven't (nor do I plan to) changed my diet, so it's not too bad.

Olebiker

I'm afraid not. I have been going to Weight Watchers with my wife and one of my daughters. My daughter had great success with the program and, while I didn't want to go to those hokey meetings, I have found that I really enjoy them.

lemurhouse

I don't measure hills in mph (how's that meaningful anyway, without knowing how steep, or how long the climb is, much less the ride.)

I measure climbs in total pain. Moderate pain/long duration vs intense pain/shorter duration. Same bloody decision every time! <g>

Fat hates and fears pain though. It jumps from us guys onto other people when we ride the hills.

SDS

6'2", 190 lbs, 2500 feet of climbing/hr, anything down to about 6mph. I hear Mount Charleston has a good long climb up from the highway......

Chops83

I'm 6'3" and 220lbs, and I'm not really sure what my speed is. On really steep climbs I've gone as slow as 3mph, but usually I try to stay above 12mph on most of my climbs.

Racaryu

I'm 6' 1" and 165-170lbs. I dont slow down very much on climbs, around 16mph.

But then again I'm not a "big guy" oh well.

Amazing what riding a bike does for your weight.

Sincitycycler

Las Vegas is a basin. IF you start out from Glitter Gulch downtown and ride out to Red Rock canyon, you have a constant long ascent of 3-5% for 25 miles - a big guy's nightmare!

OrionKhan

I don't know what the grades are of the hills that I ride. Some are real steep. But one thing that helped me a lot was getting a computer with cadence. I've noticed that I'm climbing more efficiently with a higher cadence than I used to use. I guess I used to be more of a masher.

At 6'1", 220, I consider myself an okay climber. I try not to get dropped to much by the skinnies. But I know that the weight is holding me back. Unfortunately, I'm all ready prettly lean. I still have a lot of muscle mass from old football days. Which is nothing but an anchor now.

my58vw

I hear of these 3 MPH etc and I can not imagine... what are you using, a triple? My lowest gear is a 39-23 and I can at minimum do about 6 MPH...

khackney

I'm 6'0 / 205... I can climb OK up to about 40 miles out. After that, I do slow a little on climbs. We have a ride with about 9 miles of steady climb gaining 1500' or so. I can grind along in the low teens. OTOH, we can climb the same ridge from the side gaining the same elevation in 2 miles. I suffer up it in my granny ring at 5 - 6 mph. I'm not the first up hills on group rides but I'm usually there with the main bunch.

I don't have any illusions about being a racer. I'm not and never will be. I am content to be able to hang with brisk group rides that average 17 – 19 mph over 50 miles or so. I’ve resolved to get down to 190 by the end of the year, then 180 by the end of the next year. Hopefully by then, I can get to the top first if I choose. That would be icing on the cake.

khackney

Let's not get into this again....