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Climbing & elevation grade % for NYC bridges?

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Climbing & elevation grade % for NYC bridges?

Old 02-22-18, 06:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Papa Tom
......

Follow-Up: Oh, jeez. I didn't realize until just now that this thread is older than my oldest granddaughter. Well, I hope the OP got an answer.
Nah! He's still huffing and puffing trying to make it to center span. Then we'll get a new thread about disc brake fade when he crashes at the other end.

Fortunately the QB bridge's expansion joints are much easier on bikes than those on the various suspension bridges.
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Old 02-27-18, 10:32 PM
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Originally Posted by robertorolfo
So what was the final verdict on the grades for the 59th Street Bridge?
The 59th St bridge is the one I ride the least, and I haven't been over it yet with my device.

And come to think of it, you can probably find it on Strava.
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Old 02-28-18, 05:31 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by robertorolfo
So what was the final verdict on the grades for the 59th Street Bridge?
It was a sad verdict for this man
Man Who Died During Five Boro Bike Tour Had Heart Attack Two Years Ago: Gothamist

Of course, the area the man is from lacks much topo.
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Old 03-01-18, 02:39 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by zacster
The 59th St bridge is the one I ride the least, and I haven't been over it yet with my device.

And come to think of it, you can probably find it on Strava.
I've been meaning to download Strava for a while, so this finally gave me the motivation to do it. It's a neat little app, although I can see that it's far from perfect.

For example, some smaller sections of the 59th street bridge climb (going from Manhattan to Queens) are listed at 4 or 5%, while the section for the "full climb" actually shows -2%, which is simply impossible. The data must somehow be confusing itself with riders going the other way (descending) or perhaps the regular roadway for automobile traffic?
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Old 03-02-18, 06:04 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by robertorolfo
I've been meaning to download Strava for a while, so this finally gave me the motivation to do it. It's a neat little app, although I can see that it's far from perfect.

For example, some smaller sections of the 59th street bridge climb (going from Manhattan to Queens) are listed at 4 or 5%, while the section for the "full climb" actually shows -2%, which is simply impossible. The data must somehow be confusing itself with riders going the other way (descending) or perhaps the regular roadway for automobile traffic?
These devices aren't terribly accurate on grade. They are slow to react to changes. I'll be halfway up the Manhattan Bridge before it shows the change in grade. I thought Strava used geographic data though. I did a long ride up Mt. Haleakala in Maui a few years ago with a Garmin watch that didn't have a grade sensor but Strava still showed it.
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Old 03-02-18, 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted by zacster
These devices aren't terribly accurate on grade. They are slow to react to changes. I'll be halfway up the Manhattan Bridge before it shows the change in grade. I thought Strava used geographic data though. I did a long ride up Mt. Haleakala in Maui a few years ago with a Garmin watch that didn't have a grade sensor but Strava still showed it.
Yes, Strava seems to take various data sources into account for grade, and when you use the phone app it apparently only looks at their own data, and not your phone's input (if it has a barometric sensor). Still, the grading for some portions of the 59th Street bridge climb is wrong (since it shows them as negative), and you would think they have tons of data to work with for a heavily trafficked place like that.

But I also see that several people are either riding on the regular roadway for cars, or keeping their Strava turned on while in the car (some of the record times/speeds are pretty laughable), so maybe it causes confusion because the roadways are slightly lower than the bike path?

I have to say the App is still a lot of fun despite these issues, as it's super interesting to compare my own commuting times and speeds based on the conditions and the bike I'm using.
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Old 09-10-18, 02:00 PM
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Thread might be old, but its still one of the first hits off of google. I looked back at some biking data and took averages over two rides on the 59th st QB bridge on a garmin + altimeter watch.

Manhattan turnaround to crest - 81' climb over 0.61mi (3221') - 2.5% grade
crest to Queens turnaround - 115' climb over 0.73mi(3854') - 3.0% grade
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Old 09-11-18, 12:23 PM
  #33  
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I guess it depends on where you measure, but I get 4% grade from Manhattan to where it flattens out, but I think I'm shortening the distance so I only include the steepest part. It is pretty steady in the area I measure.
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Old 09-11-18, 03:51 PM
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Old 09-16-18, 11:06 PM
  #35  
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Hey, it's an old thread - but these are old bridges! I know things shift over time, but probably not enough to materially change the gradients of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge bike paths - unless the paths get re-worked / re-aligned. I posted those measurements with rudimentary tools back in 2009; if anyone wants to measure the gradients with more sophisticated instruments and post the results here, please do!
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Old 09-18-18, 08:42 AM
  #36  
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It would be great if posters got an error message when reviving a long dormant thread, saying something like... "No one has posted in this thread for over a year. Proceed anyway?"

That said, for what it's worth, the steepest part of the Queensborough Bridge is at the Manhattan end, and according to my Strava records, it reaches 8 percent grade for a short while I often see people walking their bikes there.
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Old 04-24-20, 07:23 AM
  #37  
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I just measured the steep incline at the beginning of the bridge today (from Manhatten into Queensboro).
As that section usually gives me a good work out.

I was surprised to find the gradient at 5% or 3 degrees.

I used the inclinometer app on Android.
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