Climbing long gradients.

[Gasmantle]

Hi all,

I've just bought a KS16s (not a 16x) and would love to tackle a long and steep hill 2 mins from where I live. I'm not sure of the gradient but it is steep to the point you need to drive up it in a very low gear and wouldn't want to tow anything. I'd say it is about 1000yds long.

I've never tackled a hill as long or as steep before so I'm wondering is it likely to put too much strain on my KS16s? As it is a brand new machine I don't want to risk any damage. Do you think the wheel will cope with climb in one single burst or should I take a 10min pause half way?

Do you see any problems with the descent?

Many thanks

Peter.

[Will R]

Hey Peter,

In my experience it will most likely eat that hill up like a cocktail sausage.

Don't cane it, but do keep your momentum, and bounce on your tiptoes rather than keeping your feet flat and leaning heavily forward. If the wheel can't handle it it'll let you know by giving you 5 quick beeps and tilting the pedals back slowly. If that happens twice/three times in a row then the hill is too steep and it's probably best to push for that bit. This happens most at low speed, hence why keeping some momentum and entering the incline at speed is important. Starting from still on a hill is harder on the wheel than keeping you going up at 10mph say.

On the downhill brake continuously by digging your heels in and leaning backwards, you may be able to feel the wheel charging up as you do this - it's a very satisfying feeling. Just be sure not to do this with a full battery, or you'll have the same 5 beep warning and tiltback, a far sketchier experience going downhill than up.

Good luck!

[Gasmantle]

Thanks Will 

I'm just having a cuppa then going to try very shortly, there's a long hill I can see from my bedroom window and it has a couple of ornamental follies at the top so I really want to get top the top and take a few photos.

Watch this space I post a few photos later 

[dmethvin]

The only thing that might make it dicey is if you're super heavy, I'm only 150lbs and I've never had a hill that couldn't be climbed unless it was too slippery or loose dirt/gravel. If you were on a bicycle you might try to build up momentum headed into the hill to make it easier to pedal. That's not the way to do it on an EUC, which has max torque at low speeds. Start slow and climb slow, lean gently to pick up a little speed if you can. Will's covered everything else. 

[Gasmantle]

2 minutes ago, dmethvin said:

The only thing that might make it dicey is if you're super heavy, I'm only 150lbs and I've never had a hill that couldn't be climbed unless it was too slippery or loose dirt/gravel. If you were on a bicycle you might try to build up momentum headed into the hill to make it easier to pedal. That's not the way to do it on an EUC, which has max torque at low speeds. Start slow and climb slow, lean gently to pick up a little speed if you can. Will's covered everything else. 

Thanks, I'm about 170lbs and it's a warm sunny day so the road surface is good - here goes 

[Gasmantle]

I did manage the climb without any problem and was well impressed 

I did take a few photos but the size limit on the forum prevents me loading them 

[Will R]

@Gasmantle I was able to see the first one you posted, I was looking forward to seeing those folleys!

[Gasmantle]

Thanks Will, I tried to add other images but reached the limit - I could show all images 1 at a time though if you'd like to see.

[Gasmantle]

 

Here goes, lets see if I can show a few images.

This is at base camp, the intention is to ride out of the village onto the long hill in the far distance. On top of the hill are 2 rather nice looking follies, for the benefit of non UK members 'follies' are quaint ornamental structures, buildings, towers etc that are dotted across the UK landscape, they serve no useful purpose and were built usually by wealthy landowners to show  off wealth and outdo the neighbouring land owner.

The first folly can be just about seen on the hill above the telegraph pole - lets take a ride up and see what it is -

 

[Gasmantle]

The climb starts here, let hope the wheel is up to it 

[Gasmantle]

The first folly comes into view and the last few hundred yards become a gravel track.

[Gasmantle]

From the top we get a view out across the Yorkshire mill villages in the Aire valley.

[Gasmantle]

In close the monument is quite a sizeable structure with a staircase in side

[Guest PogArt Artur]

20 minutes ago, Gasmantle said:

 

Here goes, lets see if I can show a few images.

This is at base camp, the intention is to ride out of the village onto the long hill in the far distance. On top of the hill are 2 rather nice looking follies, for the benefit of non UK members 'follies' are quaint ornamental structures, buildings, towers etc that are dotted across the UK landscape, they serve no useful purpose and were built usually by wealthy landowners to show  off wealth and outdo the neighbouring land owner.

The first folly can be just about seen on the hill above the telegraph pole - lets take a ride up and see what it is -

 

Thank you for describing FOLLIES @Gasmantle, before I were just guessing , thanks to you I know what it is now 😁

It's lovely area !

[Gasmantle]

Another 200 yds along the ridge we come to the second folly - since they are very close at either end of a ridge and can be seen together they are know locally as 'the salt and pepper pots' for obvious reasons.

The moorland here is very bleak and is not far from where Emily Bronte wrote 'Wuthering Heights' it's easy to imagine Heathcliffe running through the grass towards Kathy. 

 

[Gasmantle]

Finally after a ride round the moor it's back down to earth past this rather attractive oddity in the village where I live.

I'm not sure whether it is another folly or whether it was once a gatehouse to a private estate - nowadays it is 2 small seperate lodges that are lived in. Whatever it is I think you'll agree it is a rather quaint thing 

So there we have it, a brief tour up the Aire valley on one wheel with a look at a few oddities along the way 

[The Fat Unicyclist]

2 hours ago, Gasmantle said:

I did take a few photos but the size limit on the forum prevents me loading them 

The forum is not great for storing photos... Subscribe to a photo site instead - I use Flickr - and then paste the sharing link back into your forum posts.

[Gasmantle]

1 hour ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

The forum is not great for storing photos... Subscribe to a photo site instead - I use Flickr - and then paste the sharing link back into your forum posts.

Thanks, funnily enough I do have a Flickr account but as this was my first time post photos here I wasn't sure how to go about it 

[The Fat Unicyclist]

1 hour ago, Gasmantle said:

Thanks, funnily enough I do have a Flickr account but as this was my first time post photos here I wasn't sure how to go about it 

You're sorted then... You might want to create an EUC Forum folder (if you use Flickr for other things too). Once you have uploaded, the "share" arrow (bottom right) gives a pop-up with an URL, which turns into a picture when pasted into this forum.

So you have no excuse now... MAKE MORE PHOTOS!!!