You would definitely have to do it when it's dry. Maybe use fatter tires with softer compound? Or go on some surface where spike tires could dig in. Also maybe use safety gear so that falling wouldn't be as dangerous.
why not return but next time wear a safety harness with a rope attached to an anchor point at the top with someone keeping the rope at just below tension so as to not pull you. that way a bailout would cause you to fall less than a metre.
You could do it the other way around too by using some kind of winch arrangement and allowing the rope to remain in tension. The idea is that you use the first few tries to build confidence knowing the rope will keep pulling you up the slope (assuming health and safety allow such an thing!). As confidence increases, reduce the speed/tension from the winch gradually until you’re riding it unassisted, but with the knowledge that the safety of the rope is still there…
Good call not doing it indeed. Didn't think I'd see you folks wisely walk away from a challenge, but I'm glad you did. Fatter tires with spikes? Sand blast the road surface? I doubt either of those things would work but, if you really wanted to try, I suggest a safety harness to keep the rider from falling downhill when needed.
Maybe with climbing equipment. Someone at the top pulling in an arrestor rope, ready to catch the rider as they fall off. I wonder how much a geared-down recumbent trike could do.
@@tarlneustaedter i was wondering how well a trike could do aswell. Particularly if you modified the trike so you could cycle backwards, as most of the weight is at the back
Had another thought, Safety rope attached to rider from achor point at the top of climb with slack being taken up by someone who is an expert rock climber or rescue specialist as the rider climbs. If they stop or slip and have to bail the safey rope once properly tesioned will hold them and they can use the rope to return to the bottom and try again. Cheers Stephen
These climbs are funny. If you are not used to them, you check a 10% climp on the computer: What a shallow angle, lol. When you see it in person: Holy Molly, that is almost a wall O_O Of course, 100% (the 1 in 1 climp) is just ridiculous from every angle :D
When Si was at the bottom of the nursery slope. I don't think Si was doubting his equipment. I think he was doubting his life choices, whether he really wants to ride up the 1 in 1 hill.
Sy, You might find that Olympic ski jumping venues may have the required slopes you are looking for. It will only come down to if any of them have a suitable surface.
I think it was wise to not do it, but I think with better gearing, grippier tyres, doing it when it's dry and wearing protection I think it's possible!
I recon if you -prep the surface, get rid of all the moss and grime -fit a super fat rear tire -and a really tiny front wheel to keep the front as low as possible -Maybe try again with some nicer weather in juli It might be doable.
Yes and why not have them lay a fresh layer or tarmac on it too lol, I think the whole point of it is to leave it how it is which is why it’s such a challenge.
Hanging out to see the resulting custom frankenbuild long wheel base with 3" rear tyre, heavy weighted frontwheel, ultimate hill climb e-bike, to beat this wall! Oh yeah, and the rider (Chris!) bungy-roped up!! You know you want to! 😁
Awesome! I think you guys might be able to give some safe attempts with an auto belay installed at the top. It’ll just slow your descends if/when that happens 😂
There was a climb video in Italy earlier this year where I commented that there was no way that one was the steepness posted. This one is definitely as advertised. Good call not doing it. I've wiped on on an Olympic ski slope this steep ( on snow , not a bike) and if you pop out of your ski bindings... You can't arrest your descent at this steepness ( possibly an emergency double ski pole plant arrest maneuver) The same would automatically happen here. It would hurt a lot, and that sudden change in gradient at the base could be fatal or life changing.
@@stevek8829 wide world of sports was amazing programing as a kid. It was a bit of a wild card, as it might be bowling or it might be a crash derby on any given Saturday! I won't go near a ski jump. But slopes near 45% or steeper : I live for that in winter. :-)
@@gcn yeah, just fine, thank you.. It was 11 years ago on rental skis. Binding release was set for a beginner 1/2 my size and just popped out. Fortunately I was able to keep to the middle of the slope... Boots first. It was like luge without a sled. I had to tell ahead to one relatively slow moving snowboarder as I was coming right into her path and had no way to turn. I can still remember her expression when she saw me speeding at her on my back. She got out of my way. Once i got to below 20% I was able to slow down and stop. On that paved test road it would have been ugly
That slope isn't that abnormal for skiers. It's not something that's going to be groomed with only one exception in the world but a huge chunk of my local mountain(Snowbird) has plenty of slopes that steep with children and grandpas skiing them.
I read once in bicycling mag that the highest you could ride was an eighty some percent grade, for the balance point I don’t think they even considered power. I’d like to see it really tested. Maybe you need a bike with a massive wheelbase to keep balance at the steep angle.
That really depends on the bike's geometry, mainly about the chainstay length. Some full sus enduro e-MTB with slammed stem would be far harder to unintentionally wheelie than a gravel bike, not to mention cargo bikes. I would say the ideal bike fir this kind of slope would be Salsa Blackborow with 5.0" tire in the back, Sram Eagle 10-52 tooth cassette, something like 26 tooth chainring, slammed stem and possibly like 24" front wheel.
maybe with weird tricks such as: - a 24/26 inches on the front and a 29 inches on the back to make an impossible position less impossible - a 500w engine - larger tyre on the rear to have more grip
You need a "fat eBike" with as little psi you can hold and keep the tires on the rim. Max out the rubber contact on the back. I don't think the front tire matters as much, but you have to keep some weight on the front. We used to take our mountain bikes to an old quarry where dirt bikes had maxed out their climbs. It took us about a month to learn how to ride those hills (also to build the fitness). You could also try a tractor trick - put a bit of water in the fat rear tire, it works wonders for traction.
I'd suggest a special build bike, with an extended frame so that the rear wheel sits further back from the seatpost in the same way that motorcycles are modified for hill climbs. I'd also suggest finding the lowest gears possible so that even if your legs are spinning like crazy, you only have to keep it up for 30-40 seconds.
If you're going for a special build, I would suggest a reverse recumbent trike. Start with a delta frameset with under seat steering, reverse the seat, braze on a new bottom bracket at the back. You can do without motor this way, just need insane low gearing, maybe with an extra axle?
Back in the 90's, I did a Mountain bike race around the area of automotive test track, up in Wisconsin. Part of the course was up a paved road that was made to test out tire grip and manual transmission clutches. I never found out how steep it was, but I saw more than a few racers fall off their bikes and went sliding down the hill for a few feet. I did it with a 22x30, on 26" wheels. It was the only time, I believe, that I used that 22.
You could use a safety rope - or two, one for the human and one for the bike, so if you come off, you - at least - won't go barrelling done the hill. Mountain climbers do it...
Another option is to comeback there in the summer. Remove the moss from the road the day before or early in the morning and climb the road when the sun has been on it for a couple of hours so it's dry.
Enjoyed your ride to work for a month. Inspired me to challenge riding 20+ miles every day in November and to ride a century on the 30th. I rode 27/30 and rode my age on the last day 80 miles. Total mileage for the month was 716 miles.. Love my Specialized Vado 5.0 SL Ted Hoeger Green Valley AZ USA
Most rock climbers know the attributes of Black Chilli rubber on slick, dry rock faces. You need a warm day, a jet washer and another go at the 1:1 using super sticky rubber!
One thing I notice whilst bike packing is that a rack and panniers on the back really helps with traction on steep climbs. Maybe a combination of weights over the back wheel and a 750B with some low profile tire upfront to lower the front end could get you up there?
As someone mentioned. Maybe will be good to do some modifications to the bike. Put in front some small, really small wheel for reverse mullet. Something like 16-24" wheel (from trial or BMX) and have some really grippy wide tires to help with grip. Maybe more slammed front end will help a bit. And get hands on some small chainring I saw 18t for sram cranks.
Grip is important but so is the center of gravity. You need to be able to place the center of gravity inside the wheelbase. Once the center of gravity goes beyond the rear wheel then you'll tip backwards. Like the Mercedes G-Wagon has a very heavy engine up front which allows the center of gravity to fall between the two wheels allowing it to not tip backwards. You need to go the same thing essentially.
There is a bike with two front wheels that is supposed to be made for climbing the caziest gradients. All three wheels are driven and probably there's a way to fit fat grippy soft tyres and a motor - in that way you might be able to ride even this thing as there's much more traction and you can't fall over.
Somewhere in Norway I found a natural rock wall which looked really steep (from a cyclists perspective) which was really cool to ride. For sure not as steep, but natural!
Absolutely stunning video! Hats off to Chris and Si. I think you could have used safety gear for the first one! Good call on taking a miss on the second!! Way to slippery/deadly! Love this content gcn! Keep it coming.
I would suggest waiting for summer dry weather, presure wash the whole slope and get a harnes to secure the rider from the top so when he stops he doesnt slide to the bottom. Otherwise not a good idea😅
Yeah, a 20" comp-trial bike with ultra-soft tyres is the best bet. On pressure-cleaned and well-dried concrete. But I still don't think that would do the trick, not without all-wheel drive. Put a hub motor in the front, then maybe.
Use a harness. I can probably do it with a rope tied on my chest and another rope tied on the bike from the top and slowly being pulled to follow me as I ascend (off course not to pull me or give me a help ascending) but so just to prevent rolling all the way down if need to bail out. That will also give security and confidence to the rider which is what I really think the issue here that we are so hesitant of trying. We just afraid of rolling all the way down so if we can eliminate that, it should be fine. Think about a harness use when climbing a wall or when mountain climbing. That's probably the safest way of trying it. Will be fun to try it.
Change the geometry of the bike so the rider is in a level riding position at about 30 degrees and with weight about the front wheel so you don't fly off and I think you could do more. But that would make the bike unrideable on the flat so does it even count at that point? But that moss covered cliff is something else.
I think that it will be easier with Mountain bike to climb on the last Steeper Concrete, gear ratio around 0.58 or 0.6! I see little flat place around middle of the road to slow and then accelerate quickly to reach Top! I hope that you can do it 🚵♀️💪👍🏼
Te Aute, Bethels beach, Auckland, is the world's steepest, and hardest legitimate climb. It tops out at 42%, but the street is 800 metres long. It's tough because the first part and middle flatten off to 8%, almost flat, but the main segment s between 35-42%. Give it a crack.
This is insane! I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to ride up a 37 degree slope. We’ll done! At 45 degrees it becomes an engineering problem imo. You need to find a way to get your center of gravity even lower to maintain grip. A heavier bike actually be better (assuming you can power it up the slope 😅)
You should use a cable/harness system used by stunt performers to "catch" you if you were to bail so that absolute effort could be put in without worrying about falling and rolling down the hill.
From the security perspective, get some people or a device at the top with a rope attached to a harness on the cyclist, using a crane of sort so the rope is never on the ground or in the way. As soon as the cyclist needs to bail, tighten the rope so the cyclist doesn't go downhill.
There is one pretty steep slope at Rosenbauer Factory in Linz-Leonding in Austria - looks about the same steepness as the slope you rode in the video, maybe even a bit steeper. It is on the grounds of a firefighter-vehicle-factory and I think they use it to test the vehicles. I sadly don't know, how steep it is exactly, but maybe they can tell you :)
Sounds like a good excuse for a GCN trip to Slickrock in Moab, pretty sure you could find a 100% climb to get up there. The grip levels there are amazing
In a book about climbers going up the face of Angel Falls they found what they called ‘vegetation pitch’. Sprint up in cartoon manner. The functioning gate at the top is optimism one way, sensibility the other.
Ngl my hands got clammy just from watching this. Not something for me, that feeling of almost having reached the top and then starting to slip backwards...
I think a longtail cargo bike has a shot, since the rear axle is so far back you'll have fewer issues with going over backwards. Maybe a Surly Skid Loader with 2.5" tires, or even a Big Fat Dummy with 5" tires. Granted, the weight isn't going to help, but geared right and a short climb you might make it.
YOOOO Kona Libre! Love my Libre! And all Kona; wouldn't tour or bikepack on anything else these days, plus from my home state of Washington in the beautiful (and hilly) Pacific Northwest!
Try it again wearing motor cycle or skate board racing leathers so you don't have worry about injuries from sliding back down. Maybe a bike with squishy enough suspension that would allow you to "sink" the bike more into the surface. A bike with low head height and/or smaller wheel in front so you can get even more over the front wheel, think of a bike setup like a standing eliptical trainer in terms of riding postion. With all that said you probably need a dry conditions day and if you are allowed to give the surfacr a clean prior to attempting it. Cheers Stephen
Si naming the 3 main issues with climbing impossible climbs and then naming a 4th, reminded me of Monty Python's A "Spanish inquisition". Awesome video guys.
Easy solution - do it the way rock climbers do. Rope at the top of the hill attached to a harness on the rider that automatically shortens with a winch. If he topples over backwards, the rope saves him from falling too far.
I would ride it on a motorcycle, get a run in, stay over the top, keep your hips loose, and stay on the throttle through the top. That is about the only "mod" I could think of to get you up there safely. Convert the E bike to a Petrol trials bike.
Set up an auto belay system and have the rider wear a climbing harness. If they fall while trying to get up the slope, the AB system kicks in. The bike itself could also be rigged up with something similar.
There weren't many made but imagine riding one of the Subaru two wheel drive bicycles up a steep road. When you lean forward to keep the front wheel on the ground you would have traction in both wheels. I don't think two wheel drive would beat the moss on the pavement.
There's a strava segment called 'no dab challenge ' its from shaldon pitch n putt course to top of field. In sunny devon. I've got the kom and love to see if you could beat my time. Wahoo said 42% xx
I was thinking of dam or reservoir spillways as regular slopes 🤔 with enough momentum a bmx bike can make it up a 200% gradient - maybe gravel bike on a half pipe is the next frontier? 🤷
At 45 degrees you're running into the limits of physics! You'd need a 1.0 coefficient of friction to climb it, and you won't get that outside of a sticky tire on dry asphalt.
Glad you did not try the 100% grade. You could borrow some gear from mountain climbers and have a safety line attached to the rider, and you could have some guys at the top hanging on to the safety line and reeling him in, and then he would, at worst, fall to the slab but not roll down it (the bike would probably tumble down and get wrecked though). Then you could find out if it is theoretically possible to ride up 100% grade. Maybe pick a very dry day, and maybe use a much smaller front wheel?
45degrees. This is a 100% climb. The percentage is the ratio between meters done vertically over horizontally. 45° is 100%. 33% is a third of that, so 15°
You would definitely have to do it when it's dry. Maybe use fatter tires with softer compound? Or go on some surface where spike tires could dig in. Also maybe use safety gear so that falling wouldn't be as dangerous.
probably have to power wash it first. it looks really slippery.
Hahah yep maybe we'll come back in summer... we don't get much dry! Safety gear would be a good idea 😂
Change to even lower gears and rear tire from MTB with more traction
@@gcn Next time bring a fat bike. 5.0" wide, 1-2 PSI, 26t chainring with 52t cassette
Cargo bike with long stays and a 22t chainring and 50t cog and Feather would do it without the batteries
why not return but next time wear a safety harness with a rope attached to an anchor point at the top with someone keeping the rope at just below tension so as to not pull you. that way a bailout would cause you to fall less than a metre.
They could attach the rope to the neck do provide some motivation.
I was thinking something similar. Full face Downhill helmet as well.
You could do it the other way around too by using some kind of winch arrangement and allowing the rope to remain in tension. The idea is that you use the first few tries to build confidence knowing the rope will keep pulling you up the slope (assuming health and safety allow such an thing!). As confidence increases, reduce the speed/tension from the winch gradually until you’re riding it unassisted, but with the knowledge that the safety of the rope is still there…
@@sloopjonb42 Good idea. Maybe they should get some Rock climbers involved and also perhaps a commando specializing in rapelling.
And an e fat bike for traction.
Good call not doing it indeed. Didn't think I'd see you folks wisely walk away from a challenge, but I'm glad you did. Fatter tires with spikes? Sand blast the road surface? I doubt either of those things would work but, if you really wanted to try, I suggest a safety harness to keep the rider from falling downhill when needed.
It certainly was a difficult one! If you like watching people suffer, check out our everesting film with Andrew Feather on GCN+ gcn.eu/8848m
Didn’t need the watch the video after reading this comment 👍
Maybe with climbing equipment. Someone at the top pulling in an arrestor rope, ready to catch the rider as they fall off.
I wonder how much a geared-down recumbent trike could do.
@@tarlneustaedter i was wondering how well a trike could do aswell. Particularly if you modified the trike so you could cycle backwards, as most of the weight is at the back
Had another thought, Safety rope attached to rider from achor point at the top of climb with slack being taken up by someone who is an expert rock climber or rescue specialist as the rider climbs. If they stop or slip and have to bail the safey rope once properly tesioned will hold them and they can use the rope to return to the bottom and try again.
Cheers
Stephen
Thought of that too. Get in contact with a circus or acrobatics company. See… always a way to go beyond !
Stephen is very clever
These climbs are funny. If you are not used to them, you check a 10% climp on the computer: What a shallow angle, lol. When you see it in person: Holy Molly, that is almost a wall O_O
Of course, 100% (the 1 in 1 climp) is just ridiculous from every angle :D
Hahaha imagine sitting at the bottom of the slope being faced with that beast 😬
When Si was at the bottom of the nursery slope. I don't think Si was doubting his equipment. I think he was doubting his life choices, whether he really wants to ride up the 1 in 1 hill.
Hahaha sounds about right 👀
If Chris stays in the saddle and Si sits on the handlebars then that should give you all the traction you need ;)
These suggestions are getting out of hand haha!
Where's the Random Tandem when you need it?
🤣🤣🤣
Sy,
You might find that Olympic ski jumping venues may have the required slopes you are looking for. It will only come down to if any of them have a suitable surface.
Ski jumps landings are at max 35 °. Not steep enough !
@@caillou450 depending on the ramp and location it can be steeper than 37 at certain points
I think it was wise to not do it, but I think with better gearing, grippier tyres, doing it when it's dry and wearing protection I think it's possible!
Maybe we'll come back and see what we can do 👀
@@gcn get someone to belay you, then you'll be able to attempt it!
I recon if you
-prep the surface, get rid of all the moss and grime
-fit a super fat rear tire
-and a really tiny front wheel to keep the front as low as possible
-Maybe try again with some nicer weather in juli
It might be doable.
Yes and why not have them lay a fresh layer or tarmac on it too lol, I think the whole point of it is to leave it how it is which is why it’s such a challenge.
@@kiely4561 hmmm yes, fresh tarmac would help too, good call 🌝
@@frankeeeej maybe ditch the bicycle and use a motorcycle instead?….I think it’s definitely doable then…lol
@@kiely4561 the thing is it is Impossible currently.
@@SimonBauer7 I would say it’s improbable not impossible.
Hanging out to see the resulting custom frankenbuild long wheel base with 3" rear tyre, heavy weighted frontwheel, ultimate hill climb e-bike, to beat this wall! Oh yeah, and the rider (Chris!) bungy-roped up!! You know you want to! 😁
Hahaha we'll get Tom Sturdy to start building 😂
Also swap out the front wheel for something as small as possible. Makes keeping it down easier.
Perhaps not ideal to ride it back down!
@@gcn or maybe Colin Furze 😬
Thank you Si and Chris...if THAT man says no , it is a bad idea !! He's got huge yarbles , as you guys know , and skills galore. Crazy man
You need to roll a massive sheet of rubber membrane down it for extra grip and fewer grazes when you fall off. Also, use a smaller front wheel?
Awesome! I think you guys might be able to give some safe attempts with an auto belay installed at the top. It’ll just slow your descends if/when that happens 😂
That is what I was thinking too.
There was a climb video in Italy earlier this year where I commented that there was no way that one was the steepness posted. This one is definitely as advertised. Good call not doing it. I've wiped on on an Olympic ski slope this steep ( on snow , not a bike) and if you pop out of your ski bindings... You can't arrest your descent at this steepness ( possibly an emergency double ski pole plant arrest maneuver) The same would automatically happen here. It would hurt a lot, and that sudden change in gradient at the base could be fatal or life changing.
Having watched Wide World of Sports many times in the seventies, the "agony of defeat" vid kept me off ski jumps--way off. 🚑 😤
@@stevek8829 wide world of sports was amazing programing as a kid. It was a bit of a wild card, as it might be bowling or it might be a crash derby on any given Saturday! I won't go near a ski jump. But slopes near 45% or steeper : I live for that in winter. :-)
Wow Colin! Sounds nasty 👀Hope you are all good!
@@gcn yeah, just fine, thank you.. It was 11 years ago on rental skis. Binding release was set for a beginner 1/2 my size and just popped out. Fortunately I was able to keep to the middle of the slope... Boots first. It was like luge without a sled. I had to tell ahead to one relatively slow moving snowboarder as I was coming right into her path and had no way to turn. I can still remember her expression when she saw me speeding at her on my back. She got out of my way. Once i got to below 20% I was able to slow down and stop. On that paved test road it would have been ugly
That slope isn't that abnormal for skiers. It's not something that's going to be groomed with only one exception in the world but a huge chunk of my local mountain(Snowbird) has plenty of slopes that steep with children and grandpas skiing them.
I read once in bicycling mag that the highest you could ride was an eighty some percent grade, for the balance point I don’t think they even considered power. I’d like to see it really tested. Maybe you need a bike with a massive wheelbase to keep balance at the steep angle.
That really depends on the bike's geometry, mainly about the chainstay length. Some full sus enduro e-MTB with slammed stem would be far harder to unintentionally wheelie than a gravel bike, not to mention cargo bikes. I would say the ideal bike fir this kind of slope would be Salsa Blackborow with 5.0" tire in the back, Sram Eagle 10-52 tooth cassette, something like 26 tooth chainring, slammed stem and possibly like 24" front wheel.
I'd like to get a pressure washer onto that second climb and then you can give it a go once its all dry (with some sort of crash suit on)
How about we do the washing you give it a go? 😂
@@gcn lol not likely!
maybe with weird tricks such as:
- a 24/26 inches on the front and a 29 inches on the back to make an impossible position less impossible
- a 500w engine
- larger tyre on the rear to have more grip
1 in 1 + Andrew Feather + Unicycle. Let's do this!
You need a "fat eBike" with as little psi you can hold and keep the tires on the rim. Max out the rubber contact on the back. I don't think the front tire matters as much, but you have to keep some weight on the front. We used to take our mountain bikes to an old quarry where dirt bikes had maxed out their climbs. It took us about a month to learn how to ride those hills (also to build the fitness). You could also try a tractor trick - put a bit of water in the fat rear tire, it works wonders for traction.
Great tips! Bill 🙌
I'd suggest a special build bike, with an extended frame so that the rear wheel sits further back from the seatpost in the same way that motorcycles are modified for hill climbs. I'd also suggest finding the lowest gears possible so that even if your legs are spinning like crazy, you only have to keep it up for 30-40 seconds.
If you're going for a special build, I would suggest a reverse recumbent trike. Start with a delta frameset with under seat steering, reverse the seat, braze on a new bottom bracket at the back. You can do without motor this way, just need insane low gearing, maybe with an extra axle?
That last climb is really scarry. I get sweaty hands just from looking at it.
Back in the 90's, I did a Mountain bike race around the area of automotive test track, up in Wisconsin. Part of the course was up a paved road that was made to test out tire grip and manual transmission clutches. I never found out how steep it was, but I saw more than a few racers fall off their bikes and went sliding down the hill for a few feet. I did it with a 22x30, on 26" wheels. It was the only time, I believe, that I used that 22.
You could use a safety rope - or two, one for the human and one for the bike, so if you come off, you - at least - won't go barrelling done the hill. Mountain climbers do it...
We need this climb to be an EVENT.
Everyone gives it a go and whoever reaches the highest or even to the top gets a medal :D
Another option is to comeback there in the summer. Remove the moss from the road the day before or early in the morning and climb the road when the sun has been on it for a couple of hours so it's dry.
Enjoyed your ride to work for a month. Inspired me to challenge riding 20+ miles every day in November and to ride a century on the 30th. I rode 27/30 and rode my age on the last day 80 miles. Total mileage for the month was 716 miles.. Love my Specialized Vado 5.0 SL Ted Hoeger Green Valley AZ USA
Amazing! Kudos!
Good call not trying it today, but if you could come back on a dry day, I think you might make it!!
How about trying Whitby's Donkey Path, next to the 99 steps.
New content that no-one else has done
Awesome content, I love that Si was happy for Chris to “try it out” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Hahaha letting someone else go first... always a gentleman 😂
you need a lo pro gravel bike and a belay system for the 45! go make it happen! :)
Most rock climbers know the attributes of Black Chilli rubber on slick, dry rock faces. You need a warm day, a jet washer and another go at the 1:1 using super sticky rubber!
And maybe some Harnesses 😂
One thing I notice whilst bike packing is that a rack and panniers on the back really helps with traction on steep climbs. Maybe a combination of weights over the back wheel and a 750B with some low profile tire upfront to lower the front end could get you up there?
45 degrees 🥵🤯 good on lads, rather you than me 👍
Tell me about it! That was not easy…
@@gcn I'd say do it again with a harness and rope and ditch the bike if need be
You’ll need a powerful electronic bike😂🚴
As someone mentioned.
Maybe will be good to do some modifications to the bike.
Put in front some small, really small wheel for reverse mullet. Something like 16-24" wheel (from trial or BMX) and have some really grippy wide tires to help with grip. Maybe more slammed front end will help a bit.
And get hands on some small chainring I saw 18t for sram cranks.
Maybe we should do a GCN tech challenge around the same climb? 🤔 Who can build the ultimate hill climber?
@@gcn That will be interesting.
on a warm dry day, all the green cleaned off, 40mm tyres, 650b front wheel to drop the front , a death wish and huge kahonas maybe.
Grip is important but so is the center of gravity. You need to be able to place the center of gravity inside the wheelbase. Once the center of gravity goes beyond the rear wheel then you'll tip backwards. Like the Mercedes G-Wagon has a very heavy engine up front which allows the center of gravity to fall between the two wheels allowing it to not tip backwards. You need to go the same thing essentially.
There is a bike with two front wheels that is supposed to be made for climbing the caziest gradients. All three wheels are driven and probably there's a way to fit fat grippy soft tyres and a motor - in that way you might be able to ride even this thing as there's much more traction and you can't fall over.
Send in Feather
Sensible decision lads, not worth the risk, stay safe
kind of a stunt, regarding the moss they will have no grip after 1m, i even guess they try but it is just not possible
Somewhere in Norway I found a natural rock wall which looked really steep (from a cyclists perspective) which was really cool to ride. For sure not as steep, but natural!
Pleasebe kind to share link for previous Slab climbing, i cannot find it using search on your channel) thank you!
We need a ski jump for the next test.
Absolutely stunning video! Hats off to Chris and Si. I think you could have used safety gear for the first one! Good call on taking a miss on the second!! Way to slippery/deadly! Love this content gcn! Keep it coming.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! We have more challenges including an Everesting attempt over on GCN+. You can check it out here 👉 gcn.eu/8848m
I would suggest waiting for summer dry weather, presure wash the whole slope and get a harnes to secure the rider from the top so when he stops he doesnt slide to the bottom. Otherwise not a good idea😅
It would be interesting to see if the bodybuilder can get up it with his explosive power.
Truly ridiculous gradients!, I wince at the thought of 20 degrees let alone 45
With Si's smooth pedalling style and a trial bike, I feel that second slope could possibly be climbed...
Yeah, a 20" comp-trial bike with ultra-soft tyres is the best bet. On pressure-cleaned and well-dried concrete.
But I still don't think that would do the trick, not without all-wheel drive. Put a hub motor in the front, then maybe.
@@leftaroundabout Front wheel motor is an interesting idea. It would also add weight to the front end which would help.
Has Si got the nerve for it though? 👀
@@gcn maybe with mountain climber's gear to secure him from tumbling down?
There's only one option to tackle that last climb. Send in the Hank.
Use a harness.
I can probably do it with a rope tied on my chest and another rope tied on the bike from the top and slowly being pulled to follow me as I ascend (off course not to pull me or give me a help ascending) but so just to prevent rolling all the way down if need to bail out. That will also give security and confidence to the rider which is what I really think the issue here that we are so hesitant of trying. We just afraid of rolling all the way down so if we can eliminate that, it should be fine. Think about a harness use when climbing a wall or when mountain climbing. That's probably the safest way of trying it. Will be fun to try it.
That moss is straight terrifying. Glad you didn't attempt it
Maybe fit a smaller front tyre? could be worth it to keep the front under control.
Try putting a Cushcore in the rear tire, then you can ride with ultra low pressure for maximum grip
Nice tip Mike 🙌
would it help to swap out for a smaller front wheel?
Are you making a case for the reverse mullet?
Change the geometry of the bike so the rider is in a level riding position at about 30 degrees and with weight about the front wheel so you don't fly off and I think you could do more. But that would make the bike unrideable on the flat so does it even count at that point? But that moss covered cliff is something else.
wasn't a XC bike more suitable for this? at least I think it may have some chance
Maybe a longer tail bike might help - sort of like the longer swingarm dirt bike that goes up dirt cliffs
I reckon our favourite cyclist Harriet could crack this!!😊😊 Great video and well done to both of you……..
This would be a breakfast for Harriet 👀 She does this on her commute 🙌
I think that it will be easier with Mountain bike to climb on the last Steeper Concrete, gear ratio around 0.58 or 0.6! I see little flat place around middle of the road to slow and then accelerate quickly to reach Top! I hope that you can do it 🚵♀️💪👍🏼
Te Aute, Bethels beach, Auckland, is the world's steepest, and hardest legitimate climb. It tops out at 42%, but the street is 800 metres long. It's tough because the first part and middle flatten off to 8%, almost flat, but the main segment s between 35-42%. Give it a crack.
This is insane! I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to ride up a 37 degree slope. We’ll done! At 45 degrees it becomes an engineering problem imo. You need to find a way to get your center of gravity even lower to maintain grip. A heavier bike actually be better (assuming you can power it up the slope 😅)
Interesting 👀 Maybe we should get some of the GCN tech crew to do deep dive 🙌
A longer wheel base will help to keep the cg in front of the tire at those angles.
@@tacorenec a long wheelbase and a very long stem with the least spacers possible
Recumbent tadpole trike, no limit to how low you can gear, also available in electric form.
As soon as I saw the moss I thought "are they kidding". no GCN presenter deaths please! 😂
What about near-death experiences? Check out Andrew Feather almost killing himself in our everesting film on GCN+ gcn.eu/8848m
@@gcn oh come on, don't go responding to comments with advertising.
A tiny 9" front wheel with a 29er rear as wide as possible
Chris- Balls on the top tube here.
Si- 'do you want a hand?' 😂
You should use a cable/harness system used by stunt performers to "catch" you if you were to bail so that absolute effort could be put in without worrying about falling and rolling down the hill.
I've slid down a 41 degree velodrome after riding too slow.
Maybe try a fat bike with very low tire pressure? You lads are nuts. Looks terrifying.
you can't convince me that second climb is 45° its like 60° if it is for testing military vehicles
Way to go lads. "More guts than brains" but you know what you've got to love guts. 100%? I'll never complain about 15%+ again.
From the security perspective, get some people or a device at the top with a rope attached to a harness on the cyclist, using a crane of sort so the rope is never on the ground or in the way. As soon as the cyclist needs to bail, tighten the rope so the cyclist doesn't go downhill.
There is one pretty steep slope at Rosenbauer Factory in Linz-Leonding in Austria - looks about the same steepness as the slope you rode in the video, maybe even a bit steeper. It is on the grounds of a firefighter-vehicle-factory and I think they use it to test the vehicles. I sadly don't know, how steep it is exactly, but maybe they can tell you :)
Maybe on a fat bike with very low tire pressure, also longer chain stay and steeper fork could help!
Sounds like a good excuse for a GCN trip to Slickrock in Moab, pretty sure you could find a 100% climb to get up there. The grip levels there are amazing
Fun vid. I reckon get Pilgrim on to try this. Even if he stacks it; you know he is going to give it a go. This is going to be Epic!
1. negative stem
2. widest possible tire
3. custom made bike maybe with longer seat and chain stay
In a book about climbers going up the face of Angel Falls they found what they called ‘vegetation pitch’. Sprint up in cartoon manner. The functioning gate at the top is optimism one way, sensibility the other.
even with the way the camera foreshortens the angle the 1:1 looked insane, so much steeper than i imagined compared to 1:3
Ngl my hands got clammy just from watching this. Not something for me, that feeling of almost having reached the top and then starting to slip backwards...
I think a longtail cargo bike has a shot, since the rear axle is so far back you'll have fewer issues with going over backwards. Maybe a Surly Skid Loader with 2.5" tires, or even a Big Fat Dummy with 5" tires. Granted, the weight isn't going to help, but geared right and a short climb you might make it.
The steepest grade I biked was a country road that had a ~28% grade. Always felt amazing going down. Going back up… not so much 😅
Crazy gradient.. On 25% you lift off the brakes for second or two and suddenly you are going 30+ km/h~.
@@aczech12 Yeah, you can go pretty fast down these gradients. I hit ~32 mi/h (~51.5 km/h) going down that hill when I was riding yesterday.
YOOOO Kona Libre! Love my Libre! And all Kona; wouldn't tour or bikepack on anything else these days, plus from my home state of Washington in the beautiful (and hilly) Pacific Northwest!
"nursery slope". Typical military understated humour.
Try it again wearing motor cycle or skate board racing leathers so you don't have worry about injuries from sliding back down. Maybe a bike with squishy enough suspension that would allow you to "sink" the bike more into the surface. A bike with low head height and/or smaller wheel in front so you can get even more over the front wheel, think of a bike setup like a standing eliptical trainer in terms of riding postion. With all that said you probably need a dry conditions day and if you are allowed to give the surfacr a clean prior to attempting it.
Cheers
Stephen
13:01 Yikes! That thing looks more like a dam spillway than a road! :-0
Si naming the 3 main issues with climbing impossible climbs and then naming a 4th, reminded me of Monty Python's A "Spanish inquisition". Awesome video guys.
Easy solution - do it the way rock climbers do. Rope at the top of the hill attached to a harness on the rider that automatically shortens with a winch. If he topples over backwards, the rope saves him from falling too far.
I would ride it on a motorcycle, get a run in, stay over the top, keep your hips loose, and stay on the throttle through the top. That is about the only "mod" I could think of to get you up there safely. Convert the E bike to a Petrol trials bike.
Set up an auto belay system and have the rider wear a climbing harness. If they fall while trying to get up the slope, the AB system kicks in. The bike itself could also be rigged up with something similar.
longer chainstays! 830mm on the Surly Big Easy e cargo bike ... smaller front cog, longer stem and lower bars
Maybe in the summer, with all the moss cleared off the surface, it's worth a shot?
There weren't many made but imagine riding one of the Subaru two wheel drive bicycles up a steep road. When you lean forward to keep the front wheel on the ground you would have traction in both wheels. I don't think two wheel drive would beat the moss on the pavement.
Very last part of Mt Washington hill climb in New Hampshire to reach to finish is about 37%.
Do you know of any steeper (rideable!) climbs? Let us know 👇
Any ski jumping hill?
BTW
Have you tried a tandem? It's both longer and heavier so... ♪♫ Ain't No Mountain High Enough♫♪ !
Kerb is 400%
There's a strava segment called 'no dab challenge ' its from shaldon pitch n putt course to top of field. In sunny devon. I've got the kom and love to see if you could beat my time. Wahoo said 42% xx
This challenge seems like a good reason to make a trip to Moab UT. Slickrock is not at all slick. It’s like sandpaper and thus provides insane grip!
I was thinking of dam or reservoir spillways as regular slopes 🤔 with enough momentum a bmx bike can make it up a 200% gradient - maybe gravel bike on a half pipe is the next frontier? 🤷
You need super climber ollie!
smaller front wheel, wider rear tyre low pressure, MTB wide bars, 50 rear 28 front gearing.
I imagine with clips you have more power on the up stroke but I would hate to get stuck and not unclip in time. OUCH!!
Exactly what I was thinking. The slide and tumble is gonna be bad.
At 45 degrees you're running into the limits of physics! You'd need a 1.0 coefficient of friction to climb it, and you won't get that outside of a sticky tire on dry asphalt.
Send Hank! Hank would give it a shot. This is what we want to see
Glad you did not try the 100% grade. You could borrow some gear from mountain climbers and have a safety line attached to the rider, and you could have some guys at the top hanging on to the safety line and reeling him in, and then he would, at worst, fall to the slab but not roll down it (the bike would probably tumble down and get wrecked though). Then you could find out if it is theoretically possible to ride up 100% grade. Maybe pick a very dry day, and maybe use a much smaller front wheel?
Barely hanging onto 33% climb, this lads spinning their Cranks on a 45% uphill steep climb like it's only 27% climb
45degrees. This is a 100% climb. The percentage is the ratio between meters done vertically over horizontally. 45° is 100%. 33% is a third of that, so 15°
@@Heliosmaster
33% = 18.26° inverse tangent of .33 IIRC
The 1:1 looks like a job for a tandem tricycle with seatstays for days and a 0.1 gearing ratio.