Ireland's steepest hill

mistermatthew

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

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

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

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

G1032 wrote: »

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

12%...

mcgratheoin

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

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

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

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_

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

boege

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

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

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

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.

Beasty

Quickpip wrote: »

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.

It's site rather than forum rules that require 50 posts before you can include a link

Here's that segment

seve65

Short and very steep (on great island, cork):
http://www.strava.com/segments/9177572

Not quite as steep, but a tyre spinner never the less (near Araglin)
http://www.strava.com/segments/6072089

dastardly00

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

boege wrote: »

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

I've only done the normal Gallows Hill climb (along by the entrance to Cratloe Woods).
What's the best way to get to "The Wall"? Is it just to continue cycling along the R462 from Cratloe, and take the right-hand turn to just before the bridge here?

g0g

Thinking of taking a day off sometime soon for a spin and would love to get up to the mast on Mt Leinster. I did an event down there a couple of years ago that climbed the lower slopes there a couple of times (from different sides), but never to the mast. I'd love to do the "full" climb including both the lower segment and mast section. Which side is the best/toughest to give it a go from? Can anyone recommend a place to park (very!) nearby as I couldn't be arsed (and I completely lack the fitness!) cycling down there and back! I think there's parking at the bottom of the mast ascent, but I'd like to do the full thing! Thanks

BGT

Was driving last Sunday and not cycling, sad when a garden centre takes precedence!! Drove out of Newtownmountkennedy towards Laragh (coast at my back) and it looks to be a really tough, steep climb and probbaly 3 kms of it too. Does anyone know its name and how would it be rated against other suggestions here?

g0g

BGT wrote: »

Was driving last Sunday and not cycling, sad when a garden centre takes precedence!! Drove out of Newtownmountkennedy towards Laragh (coast at my back) and it looks to be a really tough, steep climb and probbaly 3 kms of it too. Does anyone know its name and how would it be rated against other suggestions here?

Slaughter Hill?

BGT

g0g wrote: »

Slaughter Hill?

That looks like it, 8% average and 2.6 kms. It seems to go on and on, one day I will make my way there from south Kildare (pity there's a few other beauties in between)!

g0g

BGT wrote: »

That looks like it, 8% average and 2.6 kms. It seems to go on and on, one day I will make my way there from south Kildare (pity there's a few other beauties in between)!

Yeah it's a good tough hill, but I found last year that there's another one on the road slightly North of that which is equally tough too. From memory my last time up Slaughter Hill the surface wasn't great - don't think it would be the most enjoyable descent.

dave04

g0g wrote: »

Thinking of taking a day off sometime soon for a spin and would love to get up to the mast on Mt Leinster. I did an event down there a couple of years ago that climbed the lower slopes there a couple of times (from different sides), but never to the mast. I'd love to do the "full" climb including both the lower segment and mast section. Which side is the best/toughest to give it a go from? Can anyone recommend a place to park (very!) nearby as I couldn't be arsed (and I completely lack the fitness!) cycling down there and back! I think there's parking at the bottom of the mast ascent, but I'd like to do the full thing! Thanks

I have attempted this a few years back , starting from kilkenny heading to Borris from there its signposted to mt. leinster [from what i can remember.] The approach to the nine stones car park is an easy enough climb [depending on your fitness level] alternatively you could park at the ninestones car park , which is opposite the usually locked gate across the road to the summit [ at which point i cannot advocate riding on a private road , although when i did it the gate was open , none the less i made the decision to disregard the signage.] the climb to the mast is brutal from the start , the first 100m or so rising up very steeply [ not sure of percentages] once up this i found it very difficult to return to the saddle continue on to the next obstacle , the cattle grid !! on a sharp right turn , the road elevating again , at this point if i remember correctly you can see the mast roughly 400m away [ though this is a very rough estimate made at my limit of ability] i continued on at crawling pace until approx 200m from the summit and had to stop . when i say stop what i mean is i used my last effort to propel me into the guard rail as to stop would have resulted in me falling off the bike, as due to the gradient i wasn't able to unclip safety . walked to the summit from there. as for the descent , i would recommend good well adjusted brakes strong forearms and prepare for eyeballs rattling in your head , definitely the least enjoyable bit . though after riding back through Borris on the way home , it was Great to look back at the mast and think i was there less than 20 mins ago !!

Buzwaldo

g0g wrote: »

Thinking of taking a day off sometime soon for a spin and would love to get up to the mast on Mt Leinster. I did an event down there a couple of years ago that climbed the lower slopes there a couple of times (from different sides), but never to the mast. I'd love to do the "full" climb including both the lower segment and mast section. Which side is the best/toughest to give it a go from? Can anyone recommend a place to park (very!) nearby as I couldn't be arsed (and I completely lack the fitness!) cycling down there and back! I think there's parking at the bottom of the mast ascent, but I'd like to do the full thing! Thanks

Bunclody.
It's on the river Slaney, so climb from there is longest / biggest in terms of altitude gain. That's the second ascent if you did the full 140 of Mount Leinster Challenge.
The first ascent in MLC is up the Corrabut gap which is steeper (but not as steep as part up to the mast)