It is okay to walk up steep hills
11-06-22, 04:03 PM
#127
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Bike Calculator gives 9 mph for 800W with a 70 kg rider on a 15 kg bike. Speed drops to 8 mph for an 80 kg rider. That part is pretty simple physics and I see your point. 5 mph would seem slow for a genuine 800W output
In my limited experience of e-bikes they tend to stall out on very steep climbs, so probably not contributing 350W at that very low cadence. The above physics certainly suggests he is not making 800W total. Seems more like 500W unless weight is very high. My friend has an e-bike (Orbea road bike) and his definitely struggles on gradients above 20%. While he can easily cruise away from me on a typical 7 or 8% slope, I can actually pass him on very steep slopes above 20%.
In my limited experience of e-bikes they tend to stall out on very steep climbs, so probably not contributing 350W at that very low cadence. The above physics certainly suggests he is not making 800W total. Seems more like 500W unless weight is very high. My friend has an e-bike (Orbea road bike) and his definitely struggles on gradients above 20%. While he can easily cruise away from me on a typical 7 or 8% slope, I can actually pass him on very steep slopes above 20%.
11-06-22, 04:52 PM
#128
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I had a friend who came with me bicycle camping near Matachewan, Ontario, Canada. After climbing one of the dirt/gravel road hills he said that he'd walk the next one. After walking the next hill he then said he'd ride the next one no matter how slowly as riding was easier than trying to push that loaded bicycle up the dirt/gravel hill.
As far as I'm concerned though, I think it's better to walk up a hill than risk a heart attack trying to ride up it if the gearing or fitness level are not up to that gradient. Besides, you just might see something interesting that you wouldn't see if you were riding.
Cheers
As far as I'm concerned though, I think it's better to walk up a hill than risk a heart attack trying to ride up it if the gearing or fitness level are not up to that gradient. Besides, you just might see something interesting that you wouldn't see if you were riding.
Cheers
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11-11-22, 02:12 PM
#129
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There's a smaller hill at our Malden Park, and where I bike at Heron Park in east windsor.The old dump. It's actually quite a nice park. Great for people like myself who have no interest in jogging but would like to get our heart rate to the next level walking. On a bike its easy enough to get my heart rate up on a flat road with a taller gear and more muscle.
Last edited by xroadcharlie; 11-11-22 at 02:16 PM.
11-11-22, 03:14 PM
#130
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What I find funny about this thread is the idea that people need to be told it's ok to walk up the hill.
It's your ride, if it's ok with you, it's nobody else's business.
That being said, jumping off a cliff is not ok unless you're a hang glider.
It's your ride, if it's ok with you, it's nobody else's business.
That being said, jumping off a cliff is not ok unless you're a hang glider.
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11-11-22, 05:12 PM
#131
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I've got my touring bike geared so low, it's easier to pedal than push; low of 15.7 gear inches. Still, if I head out without training I'll get off and push at the end of a long day. It uses different muscles and that can feel like a relief. I really don't care what people think. And I always tour alone, so there's no issue with others needing to wait.
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11-13-22, 07:06 PM
#132
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I walk a lot of hills. The last one was on a little exploratory side jaunt up unpaved Grotzman Rd. It was only a few hundred feet long, but it was 20% or more grade, rutted, and covered in loose dirt and river gravel. I rode down, smashing my squealing rim brakes to keep me around 7-10 mph on that loose, rutted surface with a snug turn at the steepest part. I kept expecting to go down as we bounced and hopped, but my butt far behind the Princess' saddle helped offset the weight of my heart in my throat and I made it to the bottom. I'm certain that 26" wheels factored in. I probably could have walked it down, but I there was a risk I'd slip and fall; when I fall I tend to sprain or break things, so I actually felt safer on the bike.
09-06-23, 01:56 PM
#133
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If a hill gets the better of me, I usually stop for 3-4 minutes and then go again, a bit more refreshed. My bike has fairly low gears (28 front, 31 rear).
I'm not a natural climber. My bike, myself and the gear weighs more than 100KG sometimes, and I'm a recreational cyclist on a hybrid doing less than 1,000 miles a year. I have quite a few short but sometimes steep hills around where I live. Just for fun one day, I decided to go to one of the worst hills in my region, a 650ft climb in one mile (avg. 12%, 15%+ for half a mile, with the middle reaching 20%). By the second half I was gasping and wheezing like crazy, practically falling over the handlebars, mashing the pedals around at barely 35RPM with severe tunnel vision. I think some of the people around me thought I was about to fall off and die any second. Somehow, I completed the hill, but I felt like simply falling off into the verge would be far more pleasant than riding to the top. Don't think anyone should feel ashamed if they had to walk up that hill.
I'm not a natural climber. My bike, myself and the gear weighs more than 100KG sometimes, and I'm a recreational cyclist on a hybrid doing less than 1,000 miles a year. I have quite a few short but sometimes steep hills around where I live. Just for fun one day, I decided to go to one of the worst hills in my region, a 650ft climb in one mile (avg. 12%, 15%+ for half a mile, with the middle reaching 20%). By the second half I was gasping and wheezing like crazy, practically falling over the handlebars, mashing the pedals around at barely 35RPM with severe tunnel vision. I think some of the people around me thought I was about to fall off and die any second. Somehow, I completed the hill, but I felt like simply falling off into the verge would be far more pleasant than riding to the top. Don't think anyone should feel ashamed if they had to walk up that hill.
09-06-23, 06:12 PM
#134
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I feel like so much engineering goes into making it faster to climb hills. From ebike systems to lightweight frames, to the gearing drive train systems.
It's okay to just walk up the hill. If you are pedaling up a hill you're also fighting the rotational force backwards so oftentimes it makes more sense from a physics perspective to just walk up the hill.
It's okay to just walk up the hill. If you are pedaling up a hill you're also fighting the rotational force backwards so oftentimes it makes more sense from a physics perspective to just walk up the hill.
09-07-23, 08:49 PM
#135
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I don't even have a choice now, riding the GreenSpeed Anura. If I had to push it any distance I wouldn't know how. The upside is that when my legs won't go any further I can just grab the brakes and stretch my legs and relax them and catch my breath for a minute and then start again.
There's a lot of really steep road around here but most of the hills (ravines, mostly) aren't very long. I keep going, and I push myself, like deciding I won't stop to rest until I can get in that patch of shade up ahead.
The delightful thing is that my comp tells me that even at my slowest, I'm usually climbing at about 3 to 4 mph, which I know is faster than I could get up those things on foot.
There's a lot of really steep road around here but most of the hills (ravines, mostly) aren't very long. I keep going, and I push myself, like deciding I won't stop to rest until I can get in that patch of shade up ahead.
The delightful thing is that my comp tells me that even at my slowest, I'm usually climbing at about 3 to 4 mph, which I know is faster than I could get up those things on foot.
09-07-23, 10:57 PM
#136
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I would only walk up a hill if I had a broken leg.
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09-07-23, 11:09 PM
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I haven't walked up a hill since I changed from 11-25 to 12-30 cassette with my compact crankset. I've got a hilly 51-mile ride next month I am training for.
09-08-23, 12:09 AM
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A couple weeks ago I was passed by a dog walker on the hill I live on. I was zig zagging to an extreme not engaging with the elevation, was easier than walking. was hurt and walking would have been harder
09-08-23, 03:41 AM
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It’s definitely NOT okay for me to walk up a hill and I never have. Been close to throwing the towel in a few times on severe grades, but always managed to push through the pain. That’s all part of the challenge for me. My main riding buddy has the same mentality and it helps us both. I’m not a great climber (too big) but I really love the challenge and actively seek out the biggest climbing challenges.
09-08-23, 05:25 AM
#140
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When I was in elementary school I had to walk my bike to school 20 miles each way up a uphill in the snow.
09-08-23, 06:26 AM
#141
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Why I'm endeavoring to find components suitable for swapping a 24t BIG in back for a 28t or maybe even BIGGER. Got longer-caged DR snagged this week, new chain too, one (maybe two?) FW's inbound shortly with BIG cogs wearing teeth that ought to help.
We'll see....
09-08-23, 07:13 AM
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09-08-23, 09:12 AM
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When I had a coach, he would get pissed because my power and HR would be too high on hills for the workout he prescribed.
He told me to "walk them"
No shame in my ego for walking a very steep hill. SOmewhere around 3 mph, I considere walking.
He told me to "walk them"
No shame in my ego for walking a very steep hill. SOmewhere around 3 mph, I considere walking.
09-08-23, 06:50 PM
#146
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Not training but neither am I looking to dismount & walk up some pretty steep, short sections of road where I like to ride.
Why I'm endeavoring to find components suitable for swapping a 24t BIG in back for a 28t or maybe even BIGGER. Got longer-caged DR snagged this week, new chain too, one (maybe two?) FW's inbound shortly with BIG cogs wearing teeth that ought to help.
We'll see....
Why I'm endeavoring to find components suitable for swapping a 24t BIG in back for a 28t or maybe even BIGGER. Got longer-caged DR snagged this week, new chain too, one (maybe two?) FW's inbound shortly with BIG cogs wearing teeth that ought to help.
We'll see....
09-08-23, 10:20 PM
#147
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[QUOTE=PeteHski;23009158]It’s definitely NOT okay for me to walk up a hill and I never have. Been close to throwing the towel in a few times on severe grades, but always managed to push through the pain. That’s all part of the challenge for me. My main riding buddy has the same mentality and it helps us both. I’m not a great climber (too big) but I really love the challenge and actively seek out the biggest climbing challenges.
Ahh, the good old days. I used to have this attitude but my arthritic knees have been failing me more and more over the last year. Those stabbing pains can sap your climbing enthusiasm pretty quick! Soon I will have to get at least one and eventually two bionic knees and hope to return to the steep climbs and century rides of yore.
Ahh, the good old days. I used to have this attitude but my arthritic knees have been failing me more and more over the last year. Those stabbing pains can sap your climbing enthusiasm pretty quick! Soon I will have to get at least one and eventually two bionic knees and hope to return to the steep climbs and century rides of yore.
09-09-23, 06:38 AM
#148
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This. I hate walking in cleats and I hate pushing a bike (though when I ride heavily loaded I use two-bolt recessed cleats so that doesn't apply) but I Really hate having heart attacks. When I even start to feel like my death might be approaching, I will walk ... or even sit. Laugh away at how weak I am ... I'd rather live and be laughed at.
09-09-23, 07:02 AM
#149
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It's perfectly fine to walk up hills. I look on it as a form of cross-training. I have one route which involves carrying my bike up a long flight of stairs.
09-09-23, 07:25 AM
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Ahh, the good old days. I used to have this attitude but my arthritic knees have been failing me more and more over the last year. Those stabbing pains can sap your climbing enthusiasm pretty quick! Soon I will have to get at least one and eventually two bionic knees and hope to return to the steep climbs and century rides of yore.