JayHMorrison wrote: 6 degree incline is typically the worst you see in America. So if you are facing a 13 degree incline, then I suspect you will be walking. Nobody said life after Peak Oil was going to be peachy. You better get ready Web. Start skipping the elevator and using the stairs to get in shape. Your general attitude just seems that you WANT to reject every concept of personal transportation or ANY energy use at all. I really think you are going to have a difficult time adjusting to the coming changes.
These words are starting to sound like Dick Cheney. "You better get ready Web" I am not going to let these kind of fear tactics determine the decisions I make. I have walked or pedalled to work or school for 37 of the 38 years that I have had a chance to.
And you know what I do during the time I pedal? I Think! about how to make commuting easier, more convenient, faster, safer, more enjoyable, and, yes, even cheaper.
Trying to defend 12 degree slope as some great technical achievement is silly. A pro cycling road race in Stillwater goes up Chillkoot Hill which is 24 percent grade or almost 14 degrees. It's 2nd street in downtown Stillwater! I happened to be at the race last year and the road bikers basically tore up that hill for a number of laps. I tried it on my mountain bike and no sweat. A bicycle velodrome has pitches of like 12 degrees on the straights and 42 degrees on the banks. Now I know that you don't go straight up these banks, but the little electric tricycle being bandied about is going to be a loser on a track like this.
And then you have a real mountain bike race like the Chequamegon. A lot of the CAMBA grades approach 100% or 45 degrees. I have raced those hills in lowest gear. The only reason other riders start falling off is because it is single rocky, loose track and anytime you get one person that ditches ahead of you, the whole queue starts losing momentum and basically comes to a standstill. But you always you get one guy that has excellent balance and starts weaving around everyone and gets a big applause when he makes it all the way up.