caloso

I think you mean Cat 5. Category 5 riders are new racers; Category 1 riders are the highest level of amateur racers.

RPK79

Untrained to cat 1 is a large group of everyone other than pro.

justinzane

You are quite right!

series1811

I have a similar climb near me. My bike is set up with an 11-28 11 speed cassette and 52-36 chain rings. I am one of those heathens that cross chains, so I usually do the ascent on my large chain ring and have a couple cogs to spare. I think the third to the last is 23, so 52/23. I usually average around 12 mph on the ascent, so I would cover 4 miles in around 20 minutes. I have never tried it on my smaller chain ring.

Drew Eckhardt 

In good shape with 3.5W/kg FTP 39x23 at 10.5 MPH. If I needed to I could make the same power with 39x17. 24 minutes.

Since crashing I'm down 13% on power to 3.1W/kg and would use 30x21 at 8.9 MPH. 39 x 21 would work for me. 28 minutes.

That said I have the genetics to be healthy at 135-137 pounds and 5'9.5", and dropped back to that weight from 205 pounds with middle age spread. With a bigger frame you're not really making an apples to apples comparison.

Conversely, even at 4W/kg I'll never be fast solo on flat ground because that's only 248W and my drag isn't too different from naturally heavier people.

gregf83 

Ouch! That's about 67 RPM. A grinder!

series1811

Hill climbing isn't my forte. I usually do around 70 rpm's uphill. I have tried doing climbs with faster cadences in higher gears, but I always end up going slower than if I lower my cadence and grind. Until I drop 20-30 more pounds (I currently weigh 200), I'm mashing uphill. The good part is that it has made me faster on the flats.

justinzane

Thoroughly agree with that. Finding out how far behind the virtual peloton I am every now and then adds motivation to increase my own personal times just a little more

fstshrk

Realistically, I think I would get the 12-30 ultegra cassette (assuming you have a 2x10 setup) and then park it at the 2nd largest cog in the back and climb. 6% is not an awfully difficult grade and if it gets to 10% at places, just stand up and keep climbing. And if it gets really hard, you can always shift to 30. Or if you have a medium cage RD, then go install the 11-32 from SRAM. Even better.

On my touring bike, I have a triple and occasionally, I use the 30 chainring in the front and 34 in the back to climb. Who cares.

Zuzus pedals

I'd probably end up doing that in the gearing range of 39 x 23 (easiest bits) to 39 x 27 (steepest bits).

phil_k

That (from a super quick glance) looks pretty similar in length and feet climbed as Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado.
I geared down to 34x25 and held 10mph all the way up. Based on strava, I was not that great, but it felt good. Your climb might be a bit steeper, but it's also at lower elevation, so you should be ok.

redfooj

a ~c3 climb on big (not even compact-big) chain ring with spare cogs in the back?

erm, unless my maths are wrong, as a 200# ascending 6km/6* grade at 12mph @ 52/23 means you are pushing godly power.

merlinextraligh

4.3 w/kg for 20 minutes is pretty strong, but not exactly god like.

It's an FTP of 373, or 4.1 w/kg.

redfooj

relatively speaking -- for the online web-dweller crew-- its pretty damn select. or, atleast, its not something a "Probably about 1.85 w/kg average / "standing-up-is-hard" " rider can relate to

merlinextraligh

Strong Cat 3. I can tell you being a Cat 3 is far from god like.

caloso

Seriously.

turkey9186

North Gate Rd on Mt Diablo is 1850' and 6.5 miles from the gate to the Y. Averages 6% with a few short 10% sections. I have ridden it with a 39X27 and a 34X28. Usually takes 45 minutes and the best time was 42. I usually stand on the short 10% sections.

justinzane

Went on a new route yesterday. Ended up riding longer and later than I planned and resorted to walking the bike up a short but crazy steep slope. Bad for the ego, but it worked. ~45mph back down from gravity only.

ozarkcdn

OK - so I have a noob question about the gearing here. Is the gearing like the frets on a guitar where 5th fret on one string is the same as the next down string, open (assuming regular tuned 6 string, like you'd do for tuning)? IOW - on the same climb, if you apply 50 pounds of downward force on the pedals, will your speed be the same no matter what combination of gears you use (assuming you can make the same approximate combination of front and rear gears to do this)?

justinzane

Being one of those 1.85 W/kg avg riders, but also being a serious geek, those numbers are fine. They provide a nice context for where I'm currently at. And the specific metric is very helpful since it points to three key things for me to work on:

- I am about 15-18 kg over my ideal weight. Simply losing the extra fat without adding muscle or cardio capacity give me 0.33 W/kg free.
- I can significantly improve my burst power by strengthening my legs and associated muscles. I would expect that I can reasonably expect to double my current power if I train fairly well.
- I can significantly improve my O2 throughput by friggin' quitting smoking.

The numbers also make clear something that often gets lost in the marketing and pro-fetishizing in cycling -- that one need to ride dramatically different gear ratios than the pros on the same terrain. Knowing that someone with 2.5 times the power output does a given segment in FF:RR gear and MM:SS time lets me shoot for a more appropriate ratio and pace without being discouraged because they are just mysteriously so much faster.

I'll never race pro. I'll probably struggle to race in senior age group events if at all. But knowledge helps even tortoises like myself to improve.

caloso

Essentially, yes.

Dan333SP

Yes and yes. Quit smoking ASAP and you'll have immediate improvements.

Also, there's no shame in needing big gears. I'm fairly well trained, I race and can hang on/grab occasional top 10s in 3/4 fields, but I am a terrible climber and I need a 34/28 any time the grade kicks above 5% for any extended length of time. Whatever the pros ride is totally irrelevant for real world cyclists, unless you're a 135 lb Cat 1 taking it seriously and not a 180 lb spacefiller that's there for the fun like me.

ozarkcdn

Ack - another noob question, please pardon me for side-jacking the thread! I use Strava, so I have to speak in those terms (and I don't have a power meter, so I have to rely on Strava's estimates) - in my case, with Strava, do you take your estimated avg power and divide by your Kg (not including the bike, I assume) to get FTP? Can I look then at the segment results in strava to figure out the shorter segment ouputs? If this is too far OT - please PM me

gaucho777 

The OPs climb sounds quite similar to a local climb I do somewhat frequently, Tunnel Road from Claremont to Grizzly Peak: https://www.strava.com/segments/637092. (4.3 miles/6.9km, +1,110 ft.). It's mostly around 4.5%-6% with a couple short ~10% segments. I'm a 40+, 5'11", 190# rider; used to race as a teenager but those days are long behind me; no slouch but not especially fast either. I have no idea what my power output is and have never timed myself on this climb (maybe ~24 minutes?). I do that climb mostly in 39x23 or 39x25 during the steeper sections FWIW.

Dan333SP

If your rider and bike weights are accurate and you are doing a long climb without any wind, the estimated power in Strava is probably decently close to reality. If you are using the estimated power in any other circumstances, it could be way off because it doesn't factor in wind, drafting (passing cars, other bikes, ect.), atmospheric conditions, drag (riding on the drops vs hoods, wearing baggy clothes vs skinsuit), and a host of other things. It could be off by 50% or more.

Strava might tell me I averaged 300 watts in a race, but even without a power meter I know I didn't average anywhere near that because I spent the entire race tailgunning and didn't do any work. Maybe 200 would be more accurate in that circumstance. Extended solo climbs without too much grade variation are the only time it can really give you a useful number.