What are the great London climbs?

First.Aspect

vorsprung wrote:

This thread --->

There aren't that many "great climbs" in the UK but in London and the South East there are zero

If I go home the "hilly" way it starts with a 7.5km climb that gains 270 metres. But this isn't a great climb. It's just a bit up.

UK climbs must be taken in context. You could easily make up an Amstel Gold-a-like leg breaker route in the Surrey hills, but any one of them taken alone is easy. You don't hear the pros say that the spring northern classics are easy, do you?

Btw - your climb is about 3.6% average. Its either a long shallow drag, or effectively a series of short hills separated by flat stretches.

clarkey cat

any northerners want to come and try this in 2 weeks time:

http://www.cyclosport.org/event/21-Aug- ... hills.html

115km with 2300m of climbing.

Sewinman

JonGinge wrote:

meh. Whitedown hurts more than the Galibier, I tells ya

It defeated me (not hard) on the Spring Onion. I have managed other hills in the area but I found it a total killer. The camera man was on the right turn, so I assumed that would be the end...only to turn the corner and die after a further 50 yards. :oops:

Kieran_Burns

clarkey cat wrote:

any northerners want to come and try this in 2 weeks time:

http://www.cyclosport.org/event/21-Aug- ... hills.html

115km with 2300m of climbing.

Nah.

We got our own....

http://www.kilotogo.com/index.php?optio ... vent_id=26

vorsprung

rjsterry wrote:

vorsprung wrote:

This thread --->

Nor is it even vaguely steep at an average gradient of about 1 in 28 or 3.5% - only just steeper than Balham 'Hill'. The climbs of the North Downs are generally short, but very steep, so a test of strength, rather than stamina, as more with more 'alpine' climbs.

If you want steep, take a trip to Lynmouth this summer. I can't climb that fucker even on a triple

rjsterry

vorsprung wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

vorsprung wrote:

This thread --->

Nor is it even vaguely steep at an average gradient of about 1 in 28 or 3.5% - only just steeper than Balham 'Hill'. The climbs of the North Downs are generally short, but very steep, so a test of strength, rather than stamina, as more with more 'alpine' climbs.

If you want steep, take a trip to Lynmouth this summer. I can't climb that ****** even on a triple

I know the Lynmouth climbs from driving them, but would love to attempt them á vélo. They made the car work pretty hard.

UndercoverElephant

Kieran_Burns wrote:

clarkey cat wrote:

any northerners want to come and try this in 2 weeks time:

http://www.cyclosport.org/event/21-Aug- ... hills.html

115km with 2300m of climbing.

Nah.

We got our own....

http://www.kilotogo.com/index.php?optio ... vent_id=26

I like that they put "1st Aid and Paramedic services" on their list of selling features. You'd need them.

rolf_f

oscarbudgie wrote:

None of these can be called climbs until you've done minimum 5 repeats.
on the subject I was a bit underwhelmed by Swains Lane, I don't know how it got a 4/10 in the climbs book when Mott St only got a 3.

I think you have to regard the scale as non linear or all the SE ones would get ones or twos!

cjcp

JonGinge wrote:

meh. Whitedown hurts more than the Galibier, I tells ya

Indeed. These out-of-towners may scoff at our cols, but they're quality training for the Marmotte 8)

clarkey cat

after literally BATTLING my way up Bexley Hill in West Sussex last week, up in the pedals, bike swinging from side to side, in my mind I'm Andy Shleck on a lung-bursting attack in the Alps - I log it into MapMyRun and its a, wait for it, a Category 5 climb.

I thought it was a 2 at least.

rjsterry

cjcp wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

meh. Whitedown hurts more than the Galibier, I tells ya

Indeed. These out-of-towners may scoff at our cols, but they're quality training for the Marmotte 8)

The Surrey lanes are also generally blessed with diabolical road surfaces, rendering even modest climbs leg-sapping.

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

cjcp wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

meh. Whitedown hurts more than the Galibier, I tells ya

Indeed. These out-of-towners may scoff at our cols, but they're quality training for the Marmotte 8)

The Surrey lanes are also generally blessed with diabolical road surfaces, rendering even modest climbs leg-sapping.

I did try going down TItsey Hill once but had to abort by White Lane as I was getting a terrible judder from the road. Shame as that could have been an awesome descent.
As it was I decided that going up White Lane would be the "easier" option......

Hills are like a terrible drug for cyclists, once you get hooked on them and start hunting them out you need to find longer and/or steeper hills to test yourself on :-) I know I found out a few things about myself in Wales as I went chasing Il Principie and JonGinge up the big climb on the Saturday.....it bleedin' 'urt but the view from the top made it all worth it :-D

It also helped but the "hills" around here in context!

sketchley

DonDaddyD wrote:

Whatever...

Next you lot will be saying that the uphill bit between Tooting Broadway to Tooting Bec isn't a merciless grind.

Cadel Evans could be broken on that.

Tooting Broadway to Tooting Bec I can gofrom bottom to the top at 20mph+ the whole way that's all 18 stone of me........

sketchley

Not a classic hill but next time you go over putney bridge try going striaght on all the way up the A219 ti the A3 about 2.1kms all up hill. Not very steep though. I think if you carry on to Wimbledon Village it still going up hill although not steep at all once passed the A3

First.Aspect

clarkey cat wrote:

after literally BATTLING my way up Bexley Hill in West Sussex last week, up in the pedals, bike swinging from side to side, in my mind I'm Andy Shleck on a lung-bursting attack in the Alps - I log it into MapMyRun and its a, wait for it, a Category 5 climb.

I thought it was a 2 at least.

Ahh, I found this as well. MMR measures local maxima and minima and calculates the rating based on the distance between the two. If you have a steep climb preceded by or followed by some small rise in altitude, it reduces the calculated % so much that you end up with a bum category.

PinkPedal

No jokes, I've seen a teenager do at least a quarter of the incline between t broadway and tbec doing a wheelie!!! Very nearly got a round of applause from me.

Will have to check out some of these hills, my climbing Is rubbish at the mo. Central hill is my worst so far, mainly because I go over it on the home from a hilly ride Kent way :oops:

kurako

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

clarkey cat wrote:

Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

Great going downhill, though.

Personally the best reward for a climb is a great downhill afterwards. I think we should be looking for the great London downhills rather than the great climbs. After all, they're going to tend to be in the same place...

Great downhills? That'd be Latchmere Road followed by a perfect line through the S-bend under the railway bridge

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=latchme ... 12,,0,7.95

DF33

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Not exactly Rosedale Chimney, are they?


Edit: It's strange, because if you do a search by region on the database of great UK climbs, and enter "South East", there are no results at all. Odd, no?

Thats because they're all shandy drinking, bed wetting southern pooftas.

sketchley

Great Downhill. I hit just over 40mph on the hybrid on the A240 heading towards Epsom from the A217 a few weeks ago. That was fun.

deptfordmarmoset

Kurako wrote:

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

clarkey cat wrote:

Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

Great going downhill, though.

Personally the best reward for a climb is a great downhill afterwards. I think we should be looking for the great London downhills rather than the great climbs. After all, they're going to tend to be in the same place...

Great downhills? That'd be Latchmere Road followed by a perfect line through the S-bend under the railway bridge

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=latchme ... 12,,0,7.95

Ooh, good call! That looks smooth and fun. I'm heading out that way on the next dry day to give it a go. It's just on the edge of my impossible ''ride every road'' project. I've now done every cyclable road within 72 square miles of my home (excluding motorway-style roads and a handful of tunnels). So if the rain holds off until tomorrow afternoon I've got my morning ride sorted - an uphill, a downhill and maybe hit 73 square miles.

rjsterry

Kurako wrote:

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

ketsbaia wrote:

clarkey cat wrote:

Westerham Hill is an absolute killer.

Great going downhill, though.

Personally the best reward for a climb is a great downhill afterwards. I think we should be looking for the great London downhills rather than the great climbs. After all, they're going to tend to be in the same place...

Great downhills? That'd be Latchmere Road followed by a perfect line through the S-bend under the railway bridge

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=latchme ... 12,,0,7.95

A nice follow on from steaming down the last bit of The Avenue into CC West Side - no real gradient, but seems to encourage me to floor it every time. Not so easy in reverse though, especially if you get stopped at the ped crossing.

joelsim

Balham Hill is a biggie, so big that in 20 years of living in London I have no idea where it is.

There is of course Box Hill, that's climbed quite often by many shandy swilling southern pooftas. I personally struggle on Broomfield Hill in RP, or in fact any hill, and any wind - that was a nasty 7mph against tonight too.

I'm all for the abolition of upwards hills and headwinds.

roger_merriman

Veronese68 wrote:

Hampton Hill, approached through Bushy Park. It must climb six feet over a hundred yards.

we share part of the same route! I work shifts so odd hours for most part. was hard work with the snow mind you.