My bike was dropped off yesterday for TriBike Transport to Austria and I am growing more nervous about my 53/39 11/28 gear set-up on my Speed Concept. I saw an IM notice that the climb to Hochkonig is 1,280 meters and includes grades of 12%. Will my gearing be sufficient to get me over the top? I am a pretty strong climber (160 lbs) and had no problems this year at IM Syracuse or IM Raleigh but this climb is much steeper. I am considering getting a compact crank installed at the Expo since I arrive 3 days early. Is this advisable so close to the race? If you are doing the race what will you be your bike gearing? Any advise in relieving my anxiety would be appreciated!
I also dropped my bike off (in Connecticut) with TBT for the race in Austria. I have exactly the same gearing as you. Did Syracuse this year and last year without problems. It looks like the climb in Austria is about twice the length and elevation gain of the big climb at the beginning of the Syracuse course. Did you red-line it on that? If so, then you’re probably overgeared; but it sounds like you should have no trouble in Austria, especially being a strong climber. I think of myself as a weak climber and am not worried about this gear combo for the climb at worlds (maybe naive…who knows!)
As far as changing the crank length… that sounds a little extreme right before a big event. I wouldn’t change a thing if I were you. Less to worry about that way.
My biggest worry is about TBT. I’ve never used them before and it felt weird dropping off my bike. Still, they’ve been in business for 10 years. You don’t do that if you’re having issues delivering your service. I am happy about not having to lug my bike around Europe!
Have a great race, and don’t worry about gearing at this point. A “strong” climber will have no trouble!
It’s an individual thing, but I’m racing it with my tried-and-true 52-36 mid-compact and 11-25. BBS simulations suggest that at my W/kg I’ll be hovering around 70rpm on the steep sections, which is fine by me.
According to a teammate who raced last year’s event, only the final two km of the climb ramp up, the rest is quite moderate. There’s a long, fast descent afterwards so you might want to keep the tall gears.
Dont change anything - the challenge is about a mile of real f*cked up climb. You basically go flat for 20m’ish - climb a bit (stand/sit/aero) for 5 and then one mile (right after the aid station) its steep! Get ready for 55 miles - not the one!!!
TriMike, I think you are probably correct and I feel better. But the race director stated in an article, “When you attack the Hochkonig (1,280 m of climbing) you will be grateful for your patience”. This may be a translation error and Mapmybike confirms a climb of ~ 2,000 ft…substantial but not 1,280 m !
Thank you all for your replies…anxiety relieved!! I agree with the comment about needing the “tall” gears for the downhills.
Good luck to everyone going to Austria. See you at the finish line!
I’m running 53/39 with a 12-28 cassette for Zell. You should be able to spin at a high enough cadence with that setup. There are only short sections in the last 1.6km of the climb that go to 12-15%, it’s mostly 5% at which you can sit in the bars and spin up. The climb is not 1,280m, big mistake for a race director to make in an official statement. Here’s a link to the climb https://www.strava.com/segments/4986990.
I did a trial run on a local climb yesterday and was able to get my cadence into the 80-90 range on a similar climb (I weigh 74kg and was pushing 250-300W at that cadence).
The climb is legit. I heard lots of variations on the descent, but the video in the thread above is of the current course and only showed one full switchback and it had a large radius. There were sections of road being reconstructed in the video, but that should only have made things better.
This has been good for me too. I was a little worried. I have standard on the front (53/39?) and put a spare 12-28 on the back. Sounds like I should be good. Although I’m a bit disappointed to lose a little of the top end because of the long descent.
This has been good for me too. I was a little worried. I have standard on the front (53/39?) and put a spare 12-28 on the back. Sounds like I should be good. Although I’m a bit disappointed to lose a little of the top end because of the long descent.
Dropped my bike off today for shipping with TBT.
I also dropped my bike off today for TBT. I have a compact crank and an 11-28. But then again, I am not a young guy so I need that compact. I raced Powerman Zofingen last year so it will be interesting to see how this climb compares to the Bodenberg.
Hi Smoom: Glad that you also got some benefit from the post. This is the first time I posed a question on this site and am very happy with the response. I now feel a lot better about the climb…it will tough but I’ll get over it! Funny thing is that I corresponded with Dan (slowtwitch) some 20 years ago and bought my first Tri bike from him (a QR PR7…a 700c bike that I still ride!). Good luck at the race. P.S., now let’s hope for good weather to enjoy the venue.
