Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

As a result of the floods, the office has been closed since Tuesday, and I will probably be asked to work from home for another week at least, so no commuting. Also the main bike track along the Western Freeway was impassable 2 days ago inbound at Indooroopilly and outbound at Jindalee. These may be open now but I'm avoiding them due to diseased mossies etc, so my usual rides are all out at the moment.

So I went looking for some alternate rides to do next week in the mornings (in lieu of commuting). From Brookfield there are a number of roads that go out and up into the hills which look good. After mapping them out on ridewithgps.com, most of them seem quite good with 5 to 9% gradients and about 200m elevation, but Boscombe road is 18.2% and Haven Road is 36.9% !!!!

Does anyone have a local climp steeper than 36.9% ???

PS I only have a 39/25 lowest gear so no going to attempt Haven Rd.

Rhubarb wrote:
Does anyone have a local climp steeper than 36.9% ???

I guess you are in Brisbane. In the Melbourne area, I've not come across much more challenging than Pigeonbank Lane, North Warrandyte, a couple of km up round the corner from my place. If you want to look at it on mapmyride, bikely or bikeroutetoaster and get a profile, it's the section starting at the little court off the side close to the Yarra, and heading up towards Warrandyte-Kangaroo Ground Rd. It's continuously steep for 2-300 metres, enough that even my diesel Landcruiser will only do it in first. My problem on it (with a compact crankset and touring cassette) is that my thighs/knees bump on the handlebars when I'm trying to pedal.

Rhubarb wrote:PS I only have a 39/25 lowest gear so no going to attempt Haven Rd.

Oh, stop being a wussburger! What's a heart attack matter between friends?

I want to work out the gradient of a road near me, its short but damn steep. Is there any way without a fancy GPS unit

36.9% is damn steep! About the steepest I've ridden is maybe 12%. If/when you do it take some pics and post them up on the forum (good excuse to stop and catch your breath!)

Warnesy wrote:I want to work out the gradient of a road near me, its short but damn steep. Is there any way without a fancy GPS unit

I'm in Canaberra, curious to know which road, Warnesy?

Warnesy wrote:I want to work out the gradient of a road near me, its short but damn steep. Is there any way without a fancy GPS unit

Trigonometry?

wqlava1 wrote:

Rhubarb wrote:
Does anyone have a local climp steeper than 36.9% ???

I guess you are in Brisbane. In the Melbourne area, I've not come across much more challenging than Pigenbank Lane, North Warrandyte, a couple of km up round the corner from my place. If you want to look at it on mapmyride, bikely or bikeroutetoaster and geta profile, it's the section starting at the little court off the side close to the Yarra, and heading up towards Warrandyte-Kangaroo Ground Rd. It's continuously steep for 2-300 metres, enough that even my diesel landcruiser will only do it in first. My problem on it (0with a compact crankset and touring cassette) is that my thighs/knees bump on the handlebars when I'm trying to pedal.

I have very fond memories of riding that hill as part of my daily rides....

Rhubarb wrote:As a result of the floods, the office has been closed since Tuesday, and I will probably be asked to work from home for another week at least, so no commuting. Also the main bike track along the Western Freeway was impassable 2 days ago inbound at Indooroopilly and outbound at Jindalee. These may be open now but I'm avoiding them due to diseased mossies etc, so my usual rides are all out at the moment.

So I went looking for some alternate rides to do next week in the mornings (in lieu of commuting). From Brookfield there are a number of roads that go out and up into the hills which look good. After mapping them out on ridewithgps.com, most of them seem quite good with 5 to 9% gradients and about 200m elevation, but Boscombe road is 18.2% and Haven Road is 36.9% !!!!

Does anyone have a local climp steeper than 36.9% ???

PS I only have a 39/25 lowest gear so no going to attempt Haven Rd.

Anything over 15% I would avoid unless on a mtb with granny gears. Are they even surfaced?

I stayed at Maroochydore over xmas last year and found some steep suckers around Buderim. Going off the road signs there was a variety of 12-15% climbs about, although curiousity got the better of me the day we were scheduled to leave for home when I just had to detour down a road marked as 20% 0.6km. I don't own a gps so not sure of gradients I've been up and down on so I thought if I do 20% then that should be a record for me. Thankfully it had a slightly less steep section 3/4 up.
You'll never know if you never go, right?

Somerset drive for any inquisitive locals.

I'd be surprised if a slope of 36.9% even could be paved (at least with bitumen). I believe that this calculation is suspect.

There is a road on a detour between Baccus Marsh and Geelong (used for the Hell of the West) that was unpaved for decades and then was eventually done by hand and shovel. This is really nasty but can be climbed with a 39T chainring if you have a big enough cog on the back.

I believe that Baldwin St in Dunedin is in the low 20s and that is by reputation, the steepest street in the world.

You don't have to believe me but I have climbed that hill using the lowest gear of an MTB. (The only photo I have is the view from the top rather than of me climbing it so it won't count as proof).

There are lots of unpaved roads around that would reduce me to a 24" gear.

Cheers,

Cameron.

36% is insane! Surely that would feel like riding up a halfpipe and continuing straight up, no?

If you use any of the 3 online mapping-based services that I referred to in my post above and digitize your route in with mouse points, they can tend to take points off the surrounding topography or even from the tops of overhanging trees, giving erroneous results. It's best to use the "follow the road" option rather than insert every point yourself, in my experience. Then you can either go back and look at the profile graph, or shorten it till it covers the hill as accurately as possible.

One other noteworthy hill that I enjoy and do regularly when we stay at Apollo Bay is the 600 or 650-odd metres in 9.5km without any flat or downhill going up towards Forrest from Skenes Creek, and one that I dislike for some reason in the same area is the one coming from Lavers Hill towards Apollo Bay, going up quite steeply for 2-3km just before the Cape Otway turnoff.

number21 wrote:I stayed at Maroochydore over xmas last year and found some steep suckers around Buderim. Going off the road signs there was a variety of 12-15% climbs about, although curiousity got the better of me the day we were scheduled to leave for home when I just had to detour down a road marked as 20% 0.6km. I don't own a gps so not sure of gradients I've been up and down on so I thought if I do 20% then that should be a record for me. Thankfully it had a slightly less steep section 3/4 up.
You'll never know if you never go, right?

That reminds me of an uncle and aunt who live at Buderim - their street must be over 15%, I think. But that's a suburban back street. There would be some similarly steep suburban streets here also, close to Brisbane CBD, around Toowong and Bardon etc. They are very short sections of road, though.

ironhanglider wrote: I believe that this calculation is suspect.

+1 Can we get a verification on that. 36% just sounds way too much.

36% is possible. I'll find a photo for you & maybe a GPS profile of a 30% hill towards Mt Glorious in Brisbane called Mayfield Ct. I only just rode to the top on a mountain bike with a 22 X 34 gear doing about 3km/hr swerving all over the place. Only two of us made it & the other 10 barely walked it. The road sign at the bottom says 20%, but I know for a fact my GPS gradient % was showing 30%, 32%, 36% at times although I was lifting the front wheel trying to keep traction & riding all over the place so it's safe to say the readings would be thrown a bit. We only normally descend this road after climbing House Mountain from the other side, which is the really scary bit. Last time I hit 104km/hr & was passed by an x down hill champion doing 110mk/hr.

You can see in the GPS info on my first attempt (going down) I only hit 99.7km/hr. Next time I tucked just a tiny bit & hit 104km/hr

Found the photo looking from the bottom up.




Profile of the days ride.

I'm prepared to stand corrected, and change my post to

nickj_d wrote:
36% is just way too much for me.

I used to get over Miskin St hill in the back of Toowong in 69" gear.
Anybody have a GPS profile of that ?.

Eric.

...if the steepest st in the world in the world is 35% at its steepest point....how do you have 36.9?.

Toolonglegs wrote

if the steepest st in the world in the world is 35% at its steepest point....how do you have 36.9?.

GPS units have a vertical inaccurracy of upto + Or - 30m Thats why

If that's the case then it's very possible Mayfield Ct is only 20%, but it's 500m+ in length & still almost impossible on a road bike, though I've heard of some freaks making it.

There's a very steep shared path by Balmain Cove resi complex. I wouldn't be surprised if it's in the 30% range. But given it's not a street and has no name, it won't get into Guinness Book of Record. Rode up it once and I felt I was about to fall backwards.

Coordinate: -33.859266, 151.169472

Reported to be worlds steepest street:

This thread leads to the question on what's the steepest gradient a cyclist can ride up on, street or trail, using conventional tyres and equipment.

Well if that's the case almost vertical with a good run up. I've ridden a BMX dirt bowl near Brisbane Forest Park & it's a shear drop only a few degrees off vertical with a massive G-out in the bottom followed by an almost vertical wall on the opposite side. Takes a lot of stupidity & courage to do the drop & I've backed out last minute 90% of the time.