/n/-cycling in hilly cities

>>980970
Delete this

>>980970
I live in a neighborhood in SF with a lot of hilly streets, which makes biking a pain in the ass. There is this route across the city called the wiggle that makes it easier since it's flatter, but that doesn't really do anything for my neighborhood.

Umm... gears?

>>980990
Sure but most people want minimal effort getting A to B, so hills are a pretty huge barrier to casual transport cycling.

It's something that cycle advocacy groups brush aside, while reposting idyllic scenes from Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

>>981011

mmm, I see what you're saying but I'm not sure I agree that its a significant hurdle.. after all, roads are designed for cages, so they're very rarely over 10% elevation

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I have two bikes, one has an electric front wheel and 3x10 gears. I can climb any hill, it just takes a while on a 45lb, all wheel drive bike.

>>981011
E-bike with gears?

Hills are a shitty excuse for not cycling.

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cycling sucks without hills

>>981015
>very rarely over 10% elevation
Over 10% on most trips a given in my town.. over 15% pretty common. Our latest greatest cycleway included.

>>981040
cycling sucks on roads with cars

>>981040
Cool pic. And I'm sure that's very true for recreational/sports cycling. But not for Katie who wants to ride in to uni.

>>981034
>>981033
Indeed, I've seen plenty of urban professionals commuting on e-bikes. I think they're a great solution which seems to be increasing in popularity. I'll look into it myself when I get some funds. Maybe the future will be e-bikes, but as it stands, I haven't seen anyone under 35 on one.

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>>981050
>urban professionals
usually when people say that they mean white collar types commuting to office jobs, not fujianese guys with a bag of general tso's chicken

I occasionally see some hamplanet on an ebike but I'm not sure if they're actually commuting or just "testing the waters" to see if they want to try exercising

>>980970
>that downtube

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What's going on here.

>>981071
its foot is clipped in but also her shoe is too big

>>981071
I do this.

>>981071
>doesn't know how to bunny hop

>>981058
Road bikes are faster if you're not bitchmade

>>981108
:~O got me

>>980990
it's a myth go away

>>980970
Seattle has a shitton of hills but there is a big hook you can follow for deliveries

Or grow up, take off the make up and ditch the frilly pantys and grow a pair of trex legs. Become the mountain sprinter

Im singlespeed right now. Few people are even fixed

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Hills can be a pain. I live in a particularly hilly region in the Ozarks of the southern USA, right on the edge of the plains. It goes from the hilly dissected plateau where I'm at right now to the open plains of Oklahoma, less than a few miles away.

The longest I've ever ridden in this hill country was 39 miles in the cool of spring, and I'm pretty sure I almost hurt myself. I have been attracted to the idea of my plains neighbors to the west, the idea of being able to ride 80 miles in a day and not be dead exhausted, naught but a hurt bum.

But the hills make it so pretty that they're worth it.

I live in the East Bay Area hills near Berkeley, CA. I can't ride anywhere without a lot of climbing. My usual weekend ride is 30 miles with 2,800ft of climbing. Hills are fun. I can imagine cycling is pretty fucking boring in a place like Florida.

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>>980970

SF isn't that bad.

The only really bad parts are Specific Whites and up by Twin Peaks.

Even then, If you know what you're doing, you can go around almost every single one of the really bad hills.

t. SF bike messenger

>>980970
Some of us are not pussies who wimper and whine at climbing hills, and over time get better at it. Try it some time.

>>981334
Are you one of the kewl doodz who hangs out at mckesson plaza?

>>981338
Yeah, some of us. That's the point I'm getting at.. Most of society won't put that effort in and would rather stay in their cars than bike around a hilly city, so it's a real hurdle

>>981341

Yeah. I'm hardly ever there since I ride all day though.

>>981346
Cool. My office is at Market and Fremont so I walk by there a lot. Always thought about being a messenger but found more money elsewhere.

>>981351

Yeah, the money isn't great. Batter than a lot of shitty jobs here and it's go a lot of intangible benefits but it's definitely not a career.

I've been just doing it full-time along with a second job on weekends for about two years now until I go back to college full-time.

>>981045

bulllllllllshit. I literally live on the side of a mountain and there are very few roads that go above 10% elevation for any significant amount of time, and the very few that do are signposted because heavy cages, buses and trucks literally can't drive on them, which means there is always an alternative route you can take that is significantly less steep, so it doesn't even matter.

>>981045
No way

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>>981422
In Seattle and SF there are lots of 20%+ roads. Filbert St. in SF is the best known, at 31%

SF even has one that hits 41%, but only for 30 feet.

>>981427

I know. My city has plenty of small spots at 20%, 30%, etc, but like I just said, they are always insignificantly short and there are always alternate routes, so it's effect on "cycling-friendliness" is nil.

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>>981422
>>981424
Meh, I don't know where to get accurate stats on road grades, I'm just going off what this web app shows (linked at end of comment) Drag the route around town a bit and you'll see what I mean.

Any suggestions on other ways to get grade? I guess Strava might have something for that.

>>981427
Check out this little showcase of some of our more extreme hills, worth a watch the dude is interesting-looking... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27m1842awf8

http://www.flattestroute.com/?from=45+Ponsonby+Road%2C+Auckland%2C+New+Zealand&to=19+West+End+Road%2C+Auckland%2C+New+Zealand&travelMode=Bicycling&measurementMode=km

>>981431
Another great website I've just come across: http://hillmapper.com/
Can see exactly where The Wiggle goes through

Houston here. What's a hill? They sound nice.

I cycle in a hilly city, its no big deal. People complain just as much in my flat home city near the coast because of the strong wind.

Gears exist, fixie niggers chose their destiny.

I live in seattle on capitol hill, and its definitely challenging for anyone who doesnt have cycling legs. Most round trips cannot be made without breaking a sweat, because the hills are so wide as to be nearly unavoidable. The bigger challenge though is the rain, which happens almost daily 2/3 of the year.

Never having been to San Francisco, I was thinking that it would be easier to ride around because you can easily go around the narrower hills. Can anyone who rides in both confirm?

>>981542
There's a bunch of official and unofficial routes around the City. Sometimes you can't dodge them, but you do your best.

>>981542
I do seattle singlespeed

Its not impossible. Didnt say fixie tho

>>980970

Pretty hilly around Sydney where I live, I just use gears.