That’s a proper mountain. I’d be happy to ride it once a week, but likely not more.
The “how hard” question is definitely a “how long is a string” question though, yeah.
Responsible-Call-403 on
I would die anyway. I just ride the flats.
GhostOfFred on
Man, I’m jealous. The longest climb I can do regularly is similar gradient, but about half the length. I’d probably have to drive out at least an hour or two to find anything of similar duration.
yumdumpster on
I live near Northgate, just over the Concord line, so id call this “Tuesday Night when I dont have enough time to summit”.
tjsr on
This is pretty much The Basin to Olinda – ie, the 1/20 plus the additional run to the top of the hill.
It was part of my regular bread and butter training loop for my fiedt 6 years of riding.
lazerdab on
At about 5% it’s as hard as you want it to be. I find I can spin in Z2 on 5% or less.
My favorite Z2 ride around here is a 20 mile climb.
GiganticCrow on
I’d say about a category 2
Practical_Ad_4165 on
How long’s a piece of str… oh oops, my bad.
Morall_tach on
It’s definitely a “how long is a piece of string” question but this is a notable climb for me. 5% isn’t terrible but this is a long one.
ocspmoz on
Bigger than anything in my local area, but nothing to write home about.
At 5% average and 10% max there’s nothing in it that would stop me spinning up in z2.
jedrekk on
I’d probably get off my bike and walk.
java_dude1 on
Closest hill like that to me is at least a 2h drive.that said I could spin 5% all day long. Mist of the hill around me are 1 to 5km but usually 12% up to 24%. Those just kick my butt.
qckpckt on
Seems like a pretty decent climb. Around me there are a couple ~10k climbs with ~1000m elevation gain – with those the difficulty depends on how fast I’m trying to ride up them. I can comfortably maintain about 9-10km/h without much issue but if I want to push myself, then I can ride them at an average of about 14 km/h and feel like I’m about to die.
So how hard a climb is really depends on a lot of things. The elevation profile, time of day, your bike, your fitness, your mental state, road conditions, the weather, etc.
Wants-NotNeeds on
Nearly 300ft/mile? That’s hard. With no opportunity for recovery, it’s a climb that requires specific gearing and a base level of endurance and strength to perform well. 5% average doesn’t sound too bad, though i imagine it’s harder given the flex post.
austinmiles on
For me it would be tiring but doable. My heart rate would be high, and theres a liklihood that I would be stopping for a breather at some point. It depends on how hot it is outside and the altitude.
It’s also VERY doable. 5% is a reasonable midlevel push, those 10s could be tough depending on how long they are.
These are pretty normal climbs for my area I’m just out of practice tbh.
garciawork on
NG to junction… man I miss mount diablo.
Confident_Chipmonk on
that’s pretty typical of the WNC mountains. It’s not difficult, but it’s a commitment to finish
CrescentPhresh on
Much shorter than my average “full ride” climb, but about my average gradient. A climb I wouldn’t shy away from before examining the technical aspects.
kylevaldick on
South Gate > North Gate
Either way isn’t too crazy until Junction, after junction is when it ramps up in difficulty
Ostrya_virginiana on
That’s similar to a few climbs in my area in terms of elevation, not distance. This hill would kick my @$$ from here to the moon and back. I can do that average grade over 1.5km, barely. This distance would require me to take multiple breaks along the way and I would be riding on my small chainring and largest cog most of the way. However, I do not train for rides like this and even the short ones I do infrequently.
FroggingMadness on
Percentages look entire tolerable, I’ve struggled through similarly tall but steeper climbs on vacation before, but coming from a home region where even the gnarliest climbs top out at like 250 meters elevation change and are frequently only 125 meters it would still form the focal point of a ride for me, 10k at 5% would probably drag on for a while.
SloppySandCrab on
I have a very similar climb near me. Some of the steeper pitches can be hard but when you get back towards the average gradient you can calm yourself back down.
Really depends on how they are spaced out.
DopeZebra33 on
I’m a big boy (330lbs), but this would be up there among the hardest climbs I’ve ever completed virtually (on Zwift) or IRL. I’ve done a couple in Zwift that are this size, and it’s a HARD ~1hr effort, but have yet to try one like this in the real world.
jacemano on
Its okay. Its long but not too hard. I classify hard as anything with over 1000m to ascend.
25 Comments
Depends on surface, bike and weather….
That’s a proper mountain. I’d be happy to ride it once a week, but likely not more.
The “how hard” question is definitely a “how long is a string” question though, yeah.
I would die anyway. I just ride the flats.
Man, I’m jealous. The longest climb I can do regularly is similar gradient, but about half the length. I’d probably have to drive out at least an hour or two to find anything of similar duration.
I live near Northgate, just over the Concord line, so id call this “Tuesday Night when I dont have enough time to summit”.
This is pretty much The Basin to Olinda – ie, the 1/20 plus the additional run to the top of the hill.
It was part of my regular bread and butter training loop for my fiedt 6 years of riding.
At about 5% it’s as hard as you want it to be. I find I can spin in Z2 on 5% or less.
My favorite Z2 ride around here is a 20 mile climb.
I’d say about a category 2
How long’s a piece of str… oh oops, my bad.
It’s definitely a “how long is a piece of string” question but this is a notable climb for me. 5% isn’t terrible but this is a long one.
Bigger than anything in my local area, but nothing to write home about.
At 5% average and 10% max there’s nothing in it that would stop me spinning up in z2.
I’d probably get off my bike and walk.
Closest hill like that to me is at least a 2h drive.that said I could spin 5% all day long. Mist of the hill around me are 1 to 5km but usually 12% up to 24%. Those just kick my butt.
Seems like a pretty decent climb. Around me there are a couple ~10k climbs with ~1000m elevation gain – with those the difficulty depends on how fast I’m trying to ride up them. I can comfortably maintain about 9-10km/h without much issue but if I want to push myself, then I can ride them at an average of about 14 km/h and feel like I’m about to die.
So how hard a climb is really depends on a lot of things. The elevation profile, time of day, your bike, your fitness, your mental state, road conditions, the weather, etc.
Nearly 300ft/mile? That’s hard. With no opportunity for recovery, it’s a climb that requires specific gearing and a base level of endurance and strength to perform well. 5% average doesn’t sound too bad, though i imagine it’s harder given the flex post.
For me it would be tiring but doable. My heart rate would be high, and theres a liklihood that I would be stopping for a breather at some point. It depends on how hot it is outside and the altitude.
It’s also VERY doable. 5% is a reasonable midlevel push, those 10s could be tough depending on how long they are.
These are pretty normal climbs for my area I’m just out of practice tbh.
NG to junction… man I miss mount diablo.
that’s pretty typical of the WNC mountains. It’s not difficult, but it’s a commitment to finish
Much shorter than my average “full ride” climb, but about my average gradient. A climb I wouldn’t shy away from before examining the technical aspects.
South Gate > North Gate
Either way isn’t too crazy until Junction, after junction is when it ramps up in difficulty
That’s similar to a few climbs in my area in terms of elevation, not distance. This hill would kick my @$$ from here to the moon and back. I can do that average grade over 1.5km, barely. This distance would require me to take multiple breaks along the way and I would be riding on my small chainring and largest cog most of the way. However, I do not train for rides like this and even the short ones I do infrequently.
Percentages look entire tolerable, I’ve struggled through similarly tall but steeper climbs on vacation before, but coming from a home region where even the gnarliest climbs top out at like 250 meters elevation change and are frequently only 125 meters it would still form the focal point of a ride for me, 10k at 5% would probably drag on for a while.
I have a very similar climb near me. Some of the steeper pitches can be hard but when you get back towards the average gradient you can calm yourself back down.
Really depends on how they are spaced out.
I’m a big boy (330lbs), but this would be up there among the hardest climbs I’ve ever completed virtually (on Zwift) or IRL. I’ve done a couple in Zwift that are this size, and it’s a HARD ~1hr effort, but have yet to try one like this in the real world.
Its okay. Its long but not too hard. I classify hard as anything with over 1000m to ascend.