Ireland's steepest hill

De Bhál · 17-09-2013 6:25pm

Carpenter wrote: »

We could bring this up a notch and ask what ring these climbs were done in :D (Or maybe not:P)

SuffeRING

I'll grab me coat on the way out.

TheBlaaMan · 17-09-2013 7:55pm

mcgratheoin wrote: »

For example the road up to the mast at Mt Leinster can only be reached by one of 3 decent climbs so it should really be considered as a component of each of those rather than on it's own

Have to agree with this point. Unless you are going to drive with the bike to Nine Stones and head off up to the mast from there, you can only complete the climb to the mast by first completing one of the other three. Combining two of the segments, a quick calculation shows that the resulting climb from Kilteely to the mast would have the following stats on the spreadsheet

Total elevation = 627
Distance = 6.5
Average Gradient = 9.65%
Difficulty rating = 1880

It's here, over a slightly longer course, so slightly different stats http://app.strava.com/segments/1509488. It would be the hardest climb on that list, by some margin - and one that would rate on a European scale. (eg. Mur de Huy is 1.3km @ 9.8%; for reference the Alto de Angliru is 10.1% over 12.5km.... so Mt Leinster is half an AngryLoo

)

Hermy · 18-09-2013 8:17am

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

...so Mt Leinster is half an AngryLoo )

It's only half!:eek:
I walked it once and that wasn't fun.

mcgratheoin · 18-09-2013 9:44am

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

It's here, over a slightly longer course, so slightly different stats http://app.strava.com/segments/1509488. It would be the hardest climb on that list, by some margin - and one that would rate on a European scale.

That's the segment I was thinking of - the first km or so of that is barely even a climb as well - once you get past the crossroads at the bottom it's 10% average to the top!!

For those who know the Wicklow climbs - that's basically like going up The Wall outside Enniskerry 4 times in a row...

Russman · 23-09-2013 1:45pm

Carpenter wrote: »

We could bring this up a notch and ask what ring these climbs were done in :D (Or maybe not:P)

Very depressing sight yesterday - as I was puffing and panting my way up by Cruagh and some f--ker went by me with his chain in the big ring and about halfway down the block on the rear !! Whoever you are, I hate you and respect you in equal measure !!

:) Impressive.

seve65 · 23-09-2013 9:08pm

on_the_nickel wrote: »

Would submit Black Mountain in the Cooley Mountains for the list. Not especially steep, though the first 800m average at 12.8% and it ramps up again at the top towards the RTE mast. I've only ever done it on overcast days, but I'm sure the view over Carlingford is stunning if the weather is right.

4.8km at an average 7.7% to climb 374m.

http://app.strava.com/segments/1000934

added that one, cheers :-)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag1LJillBCzKdE02cWVwY2R6UFVvRUZZRVBjVlRPb2c#gid=0

seve65 · 23-09-2013 9:15pm

in some ways my spreadsheet isnt really about irelands steepest hill, so its a bit of a red herring on this thread. It just a bucket list of the climbs in ireland on'paved' roads rising over 200m ranked into something like a difficulty order, very very subjectively. but i am very open to opinions thats why there is a weighting factor in there !

Glass Prison 1214 · 23-09-2013 9:50pm

That list is terrific, I have been looking for something like that for ages, well done and thank you to whoever made it.

on_the_nickel · 24-09-2013 3:26am

seve65 wrote: »

It just a bucket list of the climbs in ireland on'paved' roads rising over 200m ranked into something like a difficulty order, very very subjectively. but i am very open to opinions thats why there is a weighting factor in there !

And all the better for it, IMHO. Great work.

wendell borton · 24-09-2013 8:38am

cantalach wrote: »

There's a little boreen named Bóthar na gCloch that cuts across the Dingle Peninsula and one particular stretch must surely be in the top-5. It averages 20% but touches 30% here 'n' there. Oh and none of that nice smooth tarmac like you have on Patrick's Hill or Temple Hill either. This is a proper Kerry mountain road.

Starts here: http://goo.gl/maps/DuIBH

Strava segment here: http://www.strava.com/segments/639593

Did it recently and had clip out before the top out of fear I'd fall off the bike

.

cantalach · 24-09-2013 8:43am

wendell borton wrote: »

Did it recently and had clip out before the top out of fear I'd fall off the bike .

Yep, that's the scary view the greets you.

NS77 · 24-09-2013 9:09am

seve65 wrote: »

added that one, cheers :-)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag1LJillBCzKdE02cWVwY2R6UFVvRUZZRVBjVlRPb2c#gid=0

Even tougher from Omeath:

http://www.strava.com/segments/5587021

mistermatthew · 24-09-2013 10:06am

From Inishowen where Mamore is but living in sligo, Truskmore is a toughie

http://app.strava.com/activities/63603634#1203037664

The entire climb, not just up to the mast

http://app.strava.com/activities/63603634#1203037670

seve65 · 24-09-2013 10:33pm

NS77 wrote: »

Even tougher from Omeath:

http://www.strava.com/segments/5587021

added that thanks.

seve65 · 24-09-2013 10:35pm

mistermatthew wrote: »

From Inishowen where Mamore is but living in sligo, Truskmore is a toughie

http://app.strava.com/activities/63603634#1203037664

The entire climb, not just up to the mast

http://app.strava.com/activities/63603634#1203037670

added that too, thanks, its no 3, maybe should be higher :-)

is it 'paved' ?!?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...jVlRPb2c#gid=0

mistermatthew · 25-09-2013 9:43am

seve65 wrote: »

added that too, thanks, its no 3, maybe should be higher :-)

is it 'paved' ?!?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...jVlRPb2c#gid=0

Yeah It's paved, I imagine something like Mt. Leinster having not climbed mt. Leinster.
Its A paved road up to a RTE mast. It is Also Sligo's Highest point and I'd imagine one of the highest roads that can be climbed in Ireland. Only problem is there are 3 cattle grids on it, as it must cross different farmers climbs though.

I did it with a 39-26, which was quite tough lol.
Great list though

Darkglasses · 27-09-2013 6:36pm

Haven't touched my bike in almost 2 weeks, but going to take on number 1 and number 77 tomorrow. Will report back.

Morrisseeee · 27-09-2013 6:52pm

Darkglasses wrote: »

Haven't touched my bike in almost 2 weeks, but going to take on number 1 and number 77 tomorrow. Will report back.

Make sure you don't run out of bullets on the way up & good brakes on the way down

Darkglasses · 27-09-2013 7:01pm

Morrisseeee wrote: »

Make sure you don't run out of bullets on the way up & good brakes on the way down

Thanks Morrisseee, yeah not looking to forward to the descent, over cattlegrids. I'll survive the way up one way or another!

Morrisseeee · 27-09-2013 7:14pm

Darkglasses wrote: »

Thanks Morrisseee, yeah not looking to forward to the descent, over cattlegrids. I'll survive the way up one way or another!

The cattlegrid will be fine, as long as you're not doing 70+km/h, just keep the bike straight, the real danger on the descent is speed, loosing control, visability, that first s-bend (oh and sheep)

What gearing will you use on the ascent ?

Darkglasses · 27-09-2013 7:26pm

34/28 is my easiest gear, or if it's raining tomorrow I'll use my triple!

Darkglasses · 29-09-2013 1:41am

Didn't take a crack at the climb up to the mast, the brand new surface simply looked too loose. Inspected it by walking on it and I could easily kick away the top layer. Had visions of impaling myself into the gate at the bottom so I'll come back in a month of so when the new surface has compacted a bit.

I did learn just how subjective the difficulty of a climb is though. I've done the climb from the Kilteely side (ranked 34) and now from the Bunclody side (ranked 77th) and I definitely found the latter much harder. It's far longer and I found the varying steepness tougher going than the shorter steady climb from Kilteely. Lesson learned!

Going by that, I'd probably find Priest's Leap and Minaun much harder than Mt. Leinster Mast.

macbane66 · 29-09-2013 9:22am

Morrisseeee wrote: »

The cattlegrid will be fine, as long as you're not doing 70+km/h, just keep the bike straight, the real danger on the descent is speed, loosing control, visability, that first s-bend (oh and sheep)

What gearing will you use on the ascent ?

watch out for apache like loose ponies aswell. loads of them up there last week

davgtrek · 29-09-2013 11:24am

Great list and a mighty resource to have a cut at.
I'd have two in Kerry for consideration. Ballaghasheen pass.
The climbs from both sides are tough.

http://app.strava.com/activities/84842785#1743045618

http://app.strava.com/segments/660490

seve65 · 29-09-2013 11:56am

Darkglasses wrote: »

I did learn just how subjective the difficulty of a climb is though. I've done the climb from the Kilteely side (ranked 34) and now from the Bunclody side (ranked 77th) and I definitely found the latter much harder. It's far longer and I found the varying steepness tougher going than the shorter steady climb from Kilteely. Lesson learned!

Going by that, I'd probably find Priest's Leap and Minaun much harder than Mt. Leinster Mast.

i agree with all of that ! i just gave the Bunclody side a slightly higher weighting, it went up 2 places !! ah the joys of subjectivity. I struggled on the Bunclody stretch on a breezy day with a few km in the legs and the up and downs definitely made it hard for me on that day. just gave the Corrubut gap and increased weighting too :-) I havent done most of these climbs so rely on hearsay to refine the weightings.

seve65 · 29-09-2013 12:00pm

davgtrek wrote: »

Great list and a mighty resource to have a cut at.
I'd have two in Kerry for consideration. Ballaghasheen pass.
The climbs from both sides are tough.

http://app.strava.com/activities/84842785#1743045618

http://app.strava.com/segments/660490

W-E is there already. the other side (which I think is great) doesnt quite get on the list because it doesnt climb > 200m :-(

I think another list is needed ! Not sure what the rules could be as there are so many climbs out there once you go under 200m

Lawr · 29-09-2013 6:23pm

I was surprised to see the Kilbane to Killaloe Gap mentioned, but no mention of Gallow Hill, in Cratloe. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/299559903

seve65 · 29-09-2013 9:25pm

Lawr wrote: »

I was surprised to see the Kilbane to Killaloe Gap mentioned, but no mention of Gallow Hill, in Cratloe. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/299559903

thanks, 53 for Gallows Hill, and 74 for Woodcock from Cratloe

geros29 · 30-09-2013 9:47pm

Pretty sure that the segment for priests leap on strava has been marked as hazardous.:-○
Says it all I think...

geros29 · 30-09-2013 10:03pm

geros29 wrote: »

Pretty sure that the segment for priests leap on strava has been marked as hazardous.:-○
Says it all I think...

Not true upon further inspection...:-)

mistermatthew · 11-10-2013 10:30am

Just a few more I thought I'd stick up around my area,

Mamore Gap, Short but steeper side http://www.strava.com/segments/876936

Pinch Mountain, http://www.strava.com/segments/710698
(This is mamores sister, there is a fork to either climb this road or mamore)

Kinnego Bay (http://www.strava.com/segments/1041092)

seve65 · 11-10-2013 8:57pm

mistermatthew wrote: »

Just a few more I thought I'd stick up around my area,

Mamore Gap, Short but steeper side http://www.strava.com/segments/876936

Pinch Mountain, http://www.strava.com/segments/710698
(This is mamores sister, there is a fork to either climb this road or mamore)

Kinnego Bay (http://www.strava.com/segments/1041092)

thanks Kinnego Bay looks cool, comes in at number 32 :-)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag1LJillBCzKdE02cWVwY2R6UFVvRUZZRVBjVlRPb2c

mistermatthew · 12-10-2013 2:54pm

seve65 wrote: »

thanks Kinnego Bay looks cool, comes in at number 32 :-)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag1LJillBCzKdE02cWVwY2R6UFVvRUZZRVBjVlRPb2c

Yeah It is beautiful, one of the nicest parts of donegal you can visit, It's on the Inishowen 100 route

G1032 · 10-03-2014 10:19am

Hi
I plan on doing the Minaun climb sometime in early summer. It's number 6 on the list. I wouldn't be a vastly experienced cyclist or climber.
If I attempt the climb with current bike set up it'd be with a 39 / 25

Is there much hope of ascending Minaun with a 39/25? Would I need serious strength in my legs??
How much difference will swapping the rear cassette to give me a 39/28 make?

Looking at online prices would suggest changing the chainset to a compact is out of the question financially at the moment

cantalach · 10-03-2014 10:24am

G1032 wrote: »

How much difference will swapping the rear cassette to give me a 39/28 make?

12%...

mcgratheoin · 10-03-2014 10:51am

G1032 wrote: »

Hi
How much difference will swapping the rear cassette to give me a 39/28 make?

3

Only kidding, have a look at Sheldon's online gear calculator http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/ and you can work out the difference between a 28 and 25 on your cassette. A 39x28 is roughly equivalent to a 34x24 (actually a little easier) but that's a bit higher than I'd like to have for serious climbing.

It may be cheaper to fit a cassette with a 30 sprocket or an MTB cassette with higher than that, although you will probably need to lengthen the chain and get a longer derailleur so you'd have to check the price and compare it with switching to compact.

Bloggsie · 10-03-2014 12:02pm

Slideshowbob wrote: »

Is it the one out of Naul

Sallynoggin Hill(R118) in Dun Laoghaire Co. Dublin is quite short but very steep, walking up it is a bit of a pinch, never mind on a bike.

G1032 · 10-03-2014 12:26pm

mcgratheoin wrote: »

It may be cheaper to fit a cassette with a 30 sprocket or an MTB cassette with higher than that, although you will probably need to lengthen the chain and get a longer derailleur so you'd have to check the price and compare it with switching to compact.

Thanks. Would I need to replace chain and derailleur to switch from a 25 to a 28?

mcgratheoin · 10-03-2014 12:36pm

G1032 wrote: »

Thanks. Would I need to replace chain and derailleur to switch from a 25 to a 28?

Unlikely, but I wouldn't be completely sure of it. What's your budget btw, because Wiggle have a 10-spd Tiagra compact chainset for €64 at the moment. Given the cost of a new chain, new cassette and new derailleur, make sure you do your sums correctly before opening your wallet.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-tiagra-4650-hollowtech-ii-10-spd-compact-chainset/

cdaly_ · 10-03-2014 12:38pm

Bloggsie wrote: »

Sallynoggin Hill(R118) in Dun Laoghaire Co. Dublin is quite short but very steep, walking up it is a bit of a pinch, never mind on a bike.

Ah, I remember back in my teens, I and another lad walking a dinghy on a road trailer down that hill to go sailing. Dunno how we didn't lose it and end up careering down the hill...

Scrappy600 · 10-03-2014 4:25pm

I have a wee climb im trying to beat, on the way up to slade valley (slievethoul), its average 12-15% most of the way up but at one point it becomes 33%! It's a killer!

G1032 · 10-03-2014 11:03pm

mcgratheoin wrote: »

Unlikely, but I wouldn't be completely sure of it. What's your budget btw, because Wiggle have a 10-spd Tiagra compact chainset for €64 at the moment. Given the cost of a new chain, new cassette and new derailleur, make sure you do your sums correctly before opening your wallet.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-tiagra-4650-hollowtech-ii-10-spd-compact-chainset/

Thanks for the reply. I could just, and thinking about it I probably will, just stick with what I have and do more climbing training. Get more miles into the legs instead of spending money I really don't have!!

G1032 · 10-03-2014 11:05pm

Scrappy600 wrote: »

I have a wee climb im trying to beat, on the way up to slade valley (slievethoul), its average 12-15% most of the way up but at one point it becomes 33%! It's a killer!

33%. Sweet mother of all that's holy. That is some gradient.

Scrappy600 · 11-03-2014 10:03am

G1032 wrote: »

33%. Sweet mother of all that's holy. That is some gradient.

http://www.strava.com/segments/652156

It's a very short segment at 2.5k and it only hits 33% once very very briefly but it's like cycling up a wall in places. Segment average shows only 6% average but the opening section is fairly flat and that affects it. The climbing in the last two thirds is all 12-18 or so. I can't get up without stopping. Just run out of gears legs and lungs. New carbon bike arrives in a few weeks and I'll be attacking it again!

hsilgnede · 27-08-2014 8:39am

There's a way up Gallows Hill in Clare thats 1.2k long averages over 11% and gets up to 19%. In reality the first 200 meters or so are at 6% and that drags the average down. For a kilometer its over 10% and usually more like 15-16%.

We've tried it a few times in the club, none of us have ever gotten up in one go.

mapmyride.com/routes/view/515100828

MeheeHohee · 27-08-2014 11:02am

Across the road form Ovens bar on the ballincollig road. I'm an experienced cyclist, had to get off and push!

boege · 27-08-2014 8:58pm

hsilgnede wrote: »

There's a way up Gallows Hill in Clare thats 1.2k long averages over 11% and gets up to 19%. In reality the first 200 meters or so are at 6% and that drags the average down. For a kilometer its over 10% and usually more like 15-16%.

We've tried it a few times in the club, none of us have ever gotten up in one go.

mapmyride.com/routes/view/515100828

It's called The Wall and is used by Limerick Tri Club as part of their hill climb TT event. Have done it myself, balancing the bike at 4kpmh can be tricky

denbatt · 27-08-2014 9:34pm

MeheeHohee wrote: »

Across the road form Ovens bar on the ballincollig road. I'm an experienced cyclist, had to get off and push!

http://www.strava.com/segments/6287505

Quickpip · 31-08-2014 8:54am

Just came upon this thread. The road up by Spelga Dam in county Down is fairly steep, particularly around the s bend.

Interestingly near the end of the climb there is a small lane that appears to veer down away from the main road. In actual fact there is still a slight incline, but if you drive your car to the end of the lane it appears to roll back up the hill.

Quickpip · 31-08-2014 9:06am

The forum won't let me post up the strava link to the climb as I'm a new user. However if you google, strava TON spelga it should get the climb.

Ireland's steepest hill

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