What is the steepest rideable gradient on std racing bike?

[dolophonic]

33%???
Most unlikely
look at the profile
http://www.climbbybike.com/profile.asp?Climbprofile=Hard-Knott-Pass&MountainID=7382

i don't need to look at a web site, i have ridden it. It is 1 in 3..
There a few passes up there in the Lake District that are super steep.

 

[Le breton]

i don't need to look at a web site, i have ridden it. It is 1 in 3..
.

That's a bit short for an answer. To be believed you have to make an intelligent comment about the profile shown in this fairly respected website

http://www.climbbybike.com/profile.a...ountainID=7382

which shows than the first and steeper kilometer rises only 160 meters., ie 16%.Of course if you measure the elevation in feet, ie about 525 feet, and the road distance in meters, ie 1000 meters before dividing, you would get 52 %

Let's assume you didn't mix up units.

To convince us you could find for us on the web an ordnance survey map of that hill where we could read the elevation and estimate the distance.

Climbybike did a reasonable job on the somewhat similar La Bastille climb (Grenoble) mentioned earlier and which I know
http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Montee-de-la-Bastille&qryMountainID=12378

No reasonable cyclist would ever see the 30% mentioned as the maximum, because no such cyclist would ever ride on the inside of the switchbacks. They would feel at most a 22-25% gradient in the middle/ outside of those switchbacks.

I have no reason to believe they would be fairly realistic on La Bastille and yet be totally wrong on Hardknott.

Anyway, to get an appreciation of what 30% gradient means, next time you are in San Francisco, just take your rental car up the likes of Filbert street ( I wouldn't do it in my own car, but it was thrilling doing it in a rented one) and not Filbert's itsef which I believe is one-way down.

PS

http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/hardknott-pass.htm
This website gives the ordnance survey map number , but not the map itself.
The very nice pictures show that the slope is fairly steady, on the inside of the tightest hairpin you could possibly reach 30% over 5 meters or so.

 

[Le breton]

You're cracking me up with this. Great explanation. (I had a feeling you might produce something like this with that word.) I think it was the LAMOURA 2.5 that got you booted. The Admin clearly feared you were onto his dark secret.

Anyway, if you want to have a look at that Admin, he is the tallest on the first picture here
http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=...01&um=1&hl=fr&sa=N&gbv=2&tbm=isch&um=1&itbs=1
but obviously not the most open minded.

Too bad for that thread since me and a handful of others were starting to have a good time contributing to it.

 

[danjo007]

ive found climbbybike's profiles to be incorrect in some instances.

 

[dolophonic]

Thanks Le Breton, i think i understand what 30% looks like because Fargo st is just down the road from me.... its steep!
Seems like you just want to be "right"..
If you have not been to the Peak district or the Yorkshire Dales or the Lake District i suggest you do if possible. There are no end of super steep climbs and beautiful scenery. I never professed that it was the steepest road in the world..
just that it was steep. The wiki page says 1 in 3. Feel free to correct it if that helps.
As far as intelligent or believable, well i will leave that up to more qualified people such as yourself.
I was simply answering Caruut's post asking for the steepest road in the UK.

 

[Le breton]

Thanks Le Breton, i think i understand what 30% looks like because Fargo st is just down the road from me.... its steep!
Seems like you just want to be "right"..
If you have not been to the Peak district or the Yorkshire Dales or the Lake District i suggest you do if possible. There are no end of super steep climbs and beautiful scenery. I never professed that it was the steepest road in the world..
just that it was steep. The wiki page says 1 in 3. Feel free to correct it if that helps.
As far as intelligent or believable, well i will leave that up to more qualified people such as yourself.
I was simply answering Caruut's post asking for the steepest road in the UK.

Sorry if I upset you, but you know, it was raining all day yesterday and I was forced to stay inside except for a short wet and boring walk in town so somebody probably had to suffer for it.

Yes, I have been to the Lake district in my Renault5 with US plates ages ago, not on my bike unfortunately.

As for your exchange with Caruut, I didn't realize that other forumers were not supposed to eavesdrop, sorry, once more.

You see I am a scientist by training, so I like to deal with facts, which means that I have trouble understanding your expression
Seems like you just want to be "right".

Didn't I start this thread with a question?

and yes I am very much inclined to poopoo your adamant answer

Posted by dolophonic
i don't need to look at a web site, i have ridden it. It is 1 in 3..

Must be challenging to train in your neighbourhood. From your first post on this thread I would have thought you were rather from a place like Penny lane than Filbert's street.

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

Winnats Pass in Derbyshire is harder than anything I've ridden in the lakes, Its not that long but lungbursting steepness in a couple of spots.
http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Winnats-Pass&qryMountainID=9057
Beware of irate motorists wiith over-revved engines and burned out clutches.