freetors

Paved, there's not much around here that goes more than about 7-8%. Now gravel/unpaved roads, I've seen some some spots approaching 20%, but the hills around here typically top out around 300 ft above the surrounding areas. Mountain biking too seems to top out around 20%. Those kind of hills always seem like you're teetering between wheelieing or losing traction on your rear tire.

cyccommute 

Ride with GPS says 25%. May not seem like much but it’s about 3 Å short of 12,000 feet.

79pmooney

Steepest I've done? Not sure. Portland's Brynwood is pretty darn steep at the top. Mount Diablo I've done a few times. And two mumps n New Hampshire. Pack Monadnoc at 15%. I walked the steeper last section because I'd been delaying a car the entire climb. No room to let on pass! (If I;d known they were cheering me on, I'd have muscled it out. As it was, they invited me to lunch with them!) And bump #2, Mt Washington. Last couple hundred feet are around 23%. My last race. Day before was a grueling 113 mile race against a strong wind. Had to walk twice on the mountain but not on that last pitch. It was so hard I knew I couldn't stop and unstrap in time to prevent falling over in full view of all the spectators.

Now the top was funny. Slope up went exactly to the finish line and was dead flat after, much like a staircase to a floor or landing. Rolled over the line and went into post race mode completely automatically, so oxygen starved I was barely conscious. Post race mode - don't stop pedaling! For the next couple of blocks, mile, circuit ... I was barely aware that people were running after me, grabbing me, the bike, telling me to stop! and finally, simply lifting me off. I began to "come to" walking the path to the "hotel"/store/etc. with a race volunteer's arm around my waist. It wasn't until I had cooled down, eaten and walked back outside for the van ride back down that I had any idea it was well below freezing.

wayold

I assume we're limiting this to road bikes? Lots of MTB trails are 30%+ (though usually not for very long).

spelger

3 angstroms? i assume you have measured this.

pictures never do justice to reality. that does not look tough but i am pretty sure reality would punch me in the face were i to try that.

mschwett 

wait, you don’t measure climbs in trillions of angstroms per vara? 😅😂

my most common, regularly done paved climbs peak at around 12%. gravel, 15-20% for short stretches.

for an occasional blast, a “can i make it,” or if i’m really not wanting to go around, i might do a 300-400’ stretch of 20% paved. i live in one of san francisco’s famously steep gridded neighborhoods so i spend a lot of time going around those 20% streets. people underestimate how steep these things are, my daughter and i rode down a 25% yesterday and you really need to mind your balance and braking.

bargo68 

If a Wahoo Elemnt is to be trusted (and many say it probably shouldn't be), I guess I rode 26.4%. It was maybe 10-15 feet on a street that was between 10% to 26% for about a quarter of a mile. The whole time my biggest worry was the chain snapping, as I was mashing a 39 x 28.
The trip down maxed out at -19.4% and it was a hoot!

tomato coupe

Looks closer to 5 angstroms to me.

Jno

… and the barricade-less descent from the top was spectacularly hair-raising.

rsbob 

Gravel and MTBs are cool too.

cyccommute 

When you are that high, 3 Å makes like a 50% reduction in available oxygen. Just a squidge higher and you need pressure suits.

rsbob 

25% is on my insanely steep scale. Have a long one a quarter of a mile away which I used to ride on my MTB because it has the gearing but it always kicked my butt regardless.

RCMoeur 

Although the Phoenix metro area is remarkably flat, within 1/2 mile of my house there are several residential streets with grades of 17% or more, although the peak gradient extends only for several hundred feet. At the end of a long day riding, not a welcome sight - usually easy to stomp over, unless your legs lock up in cramps 2/3 of the way up.

I think the steepest street I've ridden is the now-closed segment of 9th Street on the Pointe Tapatio property immediately east of where 7th Street crests the pass at North Mountain in Phoenix. 7th Street itself is about 6% for 3/4 mile, but I estimate 9th Street to be a solid 30% grade. Unfortunately, the embankment under it is crumbling and it's gated off, but a bold rider can still hop the gate and try it (note: I am not endorsing this behavior, only noting the possibility exists).

Steepest grade on the state highway system of Arizona is 14% in downtown Jerome, but it's one-way downhill. There are several 10+% grades, such as End of the World between Winkelman and Superior, and we used to go over those in 42-21 gears during the Mining Country road race back in the day. Now, I wouldn't visit unless I had a 24-28. For the past few years, every Veterans Day I ride Yarnell Hill from Congress to Yarnell, 8 miles and 2,000 ft climbing with long stretches of solid 7%. Lets me know what kind of (lack of) shape I'm in for El Tour Bike Patrol and the Turkey Day Ride.

Steepest grade we've ridden uphill on the tandem is the few short yet obscenely steep blocks rising from the Fisherman's Wharf area south to the routes over toward the Marina district in San Francisco. Those had to be near 20%, but with traffic signals each block. Even after 26 years, my wife still holds that day's riding against me...

phughes

Going down the hill is my favorite part, as fast as I can possibly go. So much fun.

CAT7RDR

I live in the Puente Hills of CA and there are several 10%-20% punchy grades (1 mile at most) within five miles from home as a crow flies.
When I first re-started cycling again about 2014 I avoided these hills because they were "too hard" and stuck to the flat MUPS.
What I did not realize at the time was all the fun and increased conditioning I was missing because I did not want the discomfort of increasing my mitochondrial base.

Over time, I started challenging myself and will climb a few to several of these steeper climbs every ride and sometimes do a form of HIIT on them.
Now, most all of my rides are in these hills and I average between 100' - 135' of climb per mile without going alpine.

One ramp on a local climb reached 22% (Garmin) that I managed on my 32 lbs MTB with a 24-34 grampy gear.

RCMoeur 

I just took a GooMaps screenshot looking sideways at the climb and dropped it into my CADD program, and... it seems 9th St. is less than 20%. But still about 3 times as steep as 7th St.

I stand (on my pedals) corrected.

big john

Depending on the situation, descending is often the worst part of steep hills. The 23% section I mentioned earlier is super dangerous to descend. A friend crashed on it and another friend got a flat and somehow didn't fall. The thing is twisty and has a rough surface and you can't just let it roll.

sw20

I've climbed the top 10 and the ones that didn't make it!
https://www.broleur.com/top-10-tough...rrey-pyrenees/

phughes

I live in Western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, there are 20+% grades within a mile from my house. I go down them all the time. I love it. I also used to commute in the Ozarks, downhill I would blast around 45mph. Truly enjoyable for me. There is one twisty road I travel with a great curvy downhill section that is over a mile long, I often get stuck behind cars that hold me up, necessitating me to brake. It is annoying. I want to be doing at least 40mph there, and many cars will be doing 30-35. It probably helps that I ride a motorcycle most of the time, and rarely use a car. Hills and curves are fun for me, and not dangerous as you say. There is no reason a bicycle cannot go down a hill at speed, and go around a curve, especially with good road tires.

Oh, I don't just let it roll, I pedal downhill. Keep in mind traction is a like a dollar bill, you only have so much, and some of it is spend on braking, turning, and accelerating. If you are speding your traction on braking, you have less traction for the curve. If you stay off the brakes, you can take the curve faster, and safer. As for me pedaling downhill, my acceleration is not enough to use up the available traction.

Polaris OBark

(My students whine about me using Å rather than nm to describe bond distances.)

Polaris OBark

Around here, this is the hardest hill I have done:

https://pjammcycling.com/climb/430.Alba%2520Road

Last time I tried it, I freaked out and bailed. Then I discovered going down this is arguably worse.

Sadly, the little red schoolhouse and most of the trees were destroyed by a wildfire 2 years ago.

spelger

i love descending too. but only really enjoy it if i know the road really well, and it has to be good quality. i descend down Geiger Grade here in Reno so often that i now every divot put in by snow plows or accidents, i know exactly when to steer clear, every turn like the back of my hand. then there is McCarren Blvd, just last week i hit 48.8 mph if computer is to be trusted. both of these roads are likes a baby's behind. i will be sad when they chip seal them.

big john

Most of us stop trying to bomb every hill at some point. I've gone 53 on my road bike, but in that case it was safe, relatively speaking. Sometimes it's not safe to go 35. Use your head.

phughes

I don't have to "bomb" to hit 35 on many downhills around here, and 35 mph is perfectly safe with tires in good condition, in fact, with traffic, it is safer, since traffic is going around the same speed.

Polaris OBark

My commute has some steep bits:




It slows me to the point where my Garmin will auto-pause.