That alley isn't in the best of shape either. It's hilarious to know that a bunch of people are having an internet bike race on it. That thing is steeeep!
Interesting, I want to get better at climbing, but there are some bigger potholes. Up is fine but I wouldn't want to come down it.
Don't have to climb the steepest hills to get better at climbing, just have to do repeats above threshold. Work on increasing your 2-5 min power and decreasing your weight.
Then you can change it up, 1 minute seated, 1 minute standing.
COP is good, can use Edworthy, Mckenzie golf course hill is 2 mins. if you use a harder gear.
Do 5-10 efforts of 2-5mins with 2 minutes rest between, 2x a week, do that for 6 weeks and you should get better.
Keep in mind I suck at hills but I know what I am not doing to get better.
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Don't have to climb the steepest hills to get better at climbing, just have to do repeats above threshold. Work on increasing your 2-5 min power and decreasing your weight.
Then you can change it up, 1 minute seated, 1 minute standing.
COP is good, can use Edworthy, Mckenzie golf course hill is 2 mins. if you use a harder gear.
Do 5-10 efforts of 2-5mins with 2 minutes rest between, 2x a week, do that for 6 weeks and you should get better.
Keep in mind I suck at hills but I know what I am not doing to get better.
Hill repeats are hard work, but they're really effective. The local club here in Edmonton does Thursday hills night and I've gained a large amount in power this outdoor season. Honestly don't do much else other than lots of endurance rides outside of hills night.
Nice thing I've found out about getting better at climbing is I've gotten faster on the flats as a result.
Yep, this is definitely true. It is also a great option if you don't have hours available for a long ride. The Edworthy park rd (1km) is generally my go to, and I will typically do around 6 runs (usually a short flat ride between every 2). The COP road (also about 1km, but slightly steeper) is more challenging, but accessibility is a problem.
And of course you can also just do a there and back on the rd to Nepal from Granary Road.
I've never been down that way, but the climb out of Sandy beach park up to 50th avenue is pretty brutal on the last bit.
Tried it yesterday and Garmin said it was max 12% grade for a section. I remember when this climb made me have to take a nap at the top at the beginning of spring. Yesterday it was a piece of cake, although I did have a bike upgrade during the summer.
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Tried it yesterday and Garmin said it was max 12% grade for a section. I remember when this climb made me have to take a nap at the top at the beginning of spring. Yesterday it was a piece of cake, although I did have a bike upgrade during the summer.
Same story here. I could never make it up that hill clean for a couple seasons and then finally rode it again earlier this summer after not being in the area for a few years. I managed to crank up it clean on a singlespeed .
Tried it yesterday and Garmin said it was max 12% grade for a section. I remember when this climb made me have to take a nap at the top at the beginning of spring. Yesterday it was a piece of cake, although I did have a bike upgrade during the summer.
With some home hacks (I barely know what I'm doing when it comes to bike mechanic work) I got it down to 7kg and it made climbing everything easier. The cassette was swapped from 11-28t to 11-34t as well - now the chain is too short but works as long as I don't cross-chain. Probably the cheapest Ultegra carbon bike you could buy new. Rim brake is a cheap way to save money and save weight plus they are Ultegra rim brakes so they are pretty much top class.
FYI, I upgraded from a Costco Northrock SR1 road bike with 9 speed Sora that was over 11kg so with the 4kg weight difference, it was like climbing a hill with an extra two 2L pops in your backpack.
Last edited by Hack&Lube; 09-28-2023 at 11:44 AM.
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With some home hacks (I barely know what I'm doing when it comes to bike mechanic work) I got it down to 7kg and it made climbing everything easier. The cassette was swapped from 11-28t to 11-34t as well - now the chain is too short but works as long as I don't cross-chain. Probably the cheapest Ultegra carbon bike you could buy new. Rim brake is a cheap way to save money and save weight plus they are Ultegra rim brakes so they are pretty much top class.
FYI, I upgraded from a Costco Northrock SR1 road bike with 9 speed Sora that was over 11kg so with the weight difference, it was like climbing a hill with an extra two 2L pops in your backpack.
Nice bike, surprising how easy it is to drop weight on stock bikes sometimes, had a rim brake BMC that when I switched out the bars, stem, and bar tape saved over a pound. (bars and stem were blingy) Bar end plugs had metal expansion bolts which 100grams for the set, replaced with plastic for zero dollars. (which if I zoom in are on this bike too)
People will pay hundreds to save 90 grams on bling parts with no performance advantage.
Plus I'm a firm believer you should always personalize your bike a little by switching a couple parts.(if you are spending 105 and up level money) Who wants to ride the same exact bike a everyone else of the showroom floor?
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Last edited by Icantwhisper; 09-28-2023 at 11:47 AM.
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But you made it up in the end? Didn't slide off the side of the hill and suffer catastrophic injuries?
The guy on a fatbike ahead of me bailed and I had to stop so that I didn't run into him as he slid down towards me. I ended up walking the rest of the hill.
Check your sealant rating, -10 probably, -25 probably not.
You can still ride at -25 just if you puncture it may or may not seal
My gravelkings were setup as tubeless end of last summer. I rode them the entire winter spring and some of this summer. Opened the tire in August and Stan’s was still very wet. Rode all winter except 1 week including down to -35’ish. That sucked. But tubeless held up surprisingly. That said first winter I’ve ever pushed my luck as I usually throw in a heavy tube.
This will be our first one tonight, super casual and slower pace. Might bring the kiddos too.
That was super fun, kind of took over all the main roads and bullied the cars out of the way but I had to ditch halfway because I was not prepared for the cold. Haven't been out past sunset this season and I was not dressed for it at all. Couldn't warm up going so slowly and was worried I'd catch pneumonia. I've never biked down the middle of MacLeod Tr or up the middle of 5th avenue overpass without a care in the world before. Does this event stop once it gets too cold or snowy?
Some guy snapped off his rear derailleur 5 minutes into the ride going 3kph! He continued a good few kilometers skate boarding his bike.
Last edited by Hack&Lube; 09-29-2023 at 08:11 PM.
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