Beaten by a london hill

jds_1981

Rode in on the fixie today as I've recently put my 'aero panier' attachment on it so I can use it without getting too sweaty. I get an email from a friend mid-afternoon asking for assistance on getting to somewhere on Colney Hatch road as he normally cycles to NW London but is meeting with a friend this evening and doesn't really know the area.

I recommend we meet at Regents park, head out along Camden Road, left along the A103, then up Muswell Hill. I obviously don't know the end of this route very well

Anyway, got beaten by my first hill in London, got a good start up it but ended up walking the middle third. Maybe I should make it a goal to get up Muswell hill on my fixie without changing my gear ratio? :twisted:

rebs

Iride up Muswell Hill fairly often. It is a battle... seriously scary going down especially when you sink into the gutters the buses have created near the bus stops! :P

Met someone who took a wrong turn and was asking for directions while trying to get up the hill. Evil.. but still amusing :P

fossyant

Man up you London lot. We ride fixed in the Peak District up here.

1 in 10's are do-able, just.

dugliss

I have enough trouble getting up Muswell Hill with gears :oops:

valdestana

Used to ride up and down Muswell Hill many years ago on my 3 speed sit up and beg type bike I had at the time. I was a lot younger and fitter then!

spasypaddy

ive never tackled it on my fixie. its hard enough on a geared bike.

jds_1981

& I'm apparently running 80.5 GI. (49x16)

CyclingBantam

For us Northern folk to have a snigger, what % is it and how long?

jds_1981

Apparently about 10% & looking on google maps appears to be 600-700 metres.

itboffin

CyclingBantam wrote:

For us Northern folk to have a snigger, what % is it and how long?

Don't forget us southern yokels we enjoy laughing at the townies stories of snow topped London cols.


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Oddjob62

Done Hampstead many times and Highgate a few, never tried Muswell. What GI have you got?

EKE_38BPM

CyclingBantam wrote:

For us Northern folk to have a snigger, what % is it and how long?

Depending on where you look for the answer, you get that Muswell Hill is between 11% and 15% and is about 500 metres long.
Google map link here.

If you have a look on streetview at the walls of the gardens, you can see how they are stepped to cope with the gradient.

Maybe not up to 'oop north standards', but steep enough.

davis

EKE_38BPM wrote:

If you have a look on streetview at the walls of the gardens, you can see how they are stepped to cope with the gradient.

Ah. Like a hill, but less tilty, I see.

EKE_38BPM

Also, don't forget that London is nearer to the equator than oop north, so gravity is stronger. This makes hills harder to climb.

davis

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Also, don't forget that London is nearer to the equator than oop north, so gravity is stronger. This makes hills harder to climb.

Oh, that's true. Also the air is thicker, so it's harder to cut through it like a greased otter.

joelsim

I'm still stuck on Hamburger Hill

EKE_38BPM

davis wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Also, don't forget that London is nearer to the equator than oop north, so gravity is stronger. This makes hills harder to climb.

Oh, that's true. Also the air is thicker, so it's harder to cut through it like a greased otter.

True Londoners don't like to breathe air we can't see.

phy2sll2

Erm... put it into Bikeroutetoaster (not the most accurate tool but should be good enough):

Height gain: 30m
Distance travelled: 620m

So - horizontal distance is 619m according to Pythagoras.

30 / 619 = 4.8%

Am I doing something wrong?

jds_1981

Oddjob62 - Rabbit calc puts it at 80.5.

jds_1981

itboffin wrote:

Don't forget us southern yokels we enjoy laughing at the townies stories of snow topped London cols.


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That's what my wife said when she got home :oops:

My manliness was somewhat restored by me hitting 34.9 in the Euston underpass on the same commute, chasing a white van that had pipped me for being in 'his' lane which puts me at about 145rpm....

CyclingBantam

600 meters!! Come on you softies, that isn't even a hill!

EKE_38BPM

CyclingBantam wrote:

600 meters!! Come on you softies, that isn't even a hill!

Metres, not meters. You're not American are you?

(thats me trying to deflect you from the topic)

jds_1981

phy2sll2 wrote:

Erm... put it into Bikeroutetoaster (not the most accurate tool but should be good enough):

Height gain: 30m
Distance travelled: 620m

So - horizontal distance is 619m according to Pythagoras.

30 / 619 = 4.8%

Am I doing something wrong?

Not sure about exact figures, this is what my garmin said (NB there are some odd 'grade' discrepancies when not moving)
You can also see the start & stop of my walking in the graph

Craggers

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Also, don't forget that London is nearer to the equator than oop north, so gravity is stronger. This makes hills harder to climb.

Other way round.... Gravity is weaker at the equator, hence why most space craft launch sites are located near it. Have to find another excuse i'm afraid!

mossychops

How tall is your bike? You dropped 10 metres when you got off to walk!!!!

I've answered my own question there, your bike is 10m tall. You can't argue with those figures, it's on the graph.

Headhuunter

You should try coming to south east London ! OK it's not Alpe D'Huez but there are some fairly steep hills that you ain't gonna be doing on a fixie. One Tree Hill, Sydenham Hill, Annerly Hill and there are quite a few more.... London's not all flat!

jds_1981

looked at the sydenham hill figures & I'm not convinced it would be any harder than Muswell hill.

_Brun_

There are no hills in London that you can't do on a fixed gear. Having said that, there's no shame in failing when that gear is an 80" one.

Muswell Hill is about the only one in North London that I've never ridden up, always seem to be going in the other direction for some reason. Must give it a shot sometime.

Headhuunter

jds_1981 wrote:

looked at the sydenham hill figures & I'm not convinced it would be any harder than Muswell hill.

Sydenham Hill is not the steepest, try Canonbie Road, SE23 it's about 20%...

notsoblue

Don't forget South West. We've got the Col du Chutney Mary, Col du Putney Bridge, Col du Bolan. For those of us man enough to scale Dark Hill and able to survive the thin air of the Richmond Park Massif, there is the reward of the Broomfield descente. Just be sure to bring a copy of the metro with you to stuff your jersey.

Redhog14

phy2sll2 wrote:

Erm... put it into Bikeroutetoaster (not the most accurate tool but should be good enough):

Height gain: 30m
Distance travelled: 620m

So - horizontal distance is 619m according to Pythagoras.

30 / 619 = 4.8%

Am I doing something wrong?

Don't take any job offers in Edinburgh then...cobbles and hills