Am very curious what the avg “hill” is in Kona in % grade? More specifically- what’s the typical gearing used for mere mortals (elites need not reply). 39/53 and 12/25 in rear is my guess. Maybe 11-23 for the animals, but I’m thinking a 12-27 might be better to save the legs / HR. ???
All Kona veteran’s opinions GREATLY appreciated!
I thought kona was flat?
53/39, 12-25 will get you there just fine. I like a 11-23 on the back but if you are worried about your legs the 25 will get you there, can’t imagine using the 27. There are only one or two steep little grades and they are very short, maybe 75m max.
Pu-leeeeeze tell me you’re being sarcastic. Davis Phinney one year described it as a flat course. Flat, I guess, compared to l’Alpe D’huez. Of course, he rode the course in a car, not on a bike.
I heard an athlete talking about how flat the course looked when she drove it the day before (this was the Honu course btw but it has the majority of the big Kona hills in it, no scenic lookout hill but most of the rest), bet she had a surprise on race day. I had 2300 of climbing on the Honu course and there at least 300 or so more for Kona.
Pu-leeeeeze tell me you’re being sarcastic. Davis Phinney one year described it as a flat course. Flat, I guess, compared to l’Alpe D’huez. Of course, he rode the course in a car, not on a bike.
The only thing I thought flat was my legs! I did look at my tires a couple of times too. 
Aloha,
Larry
Hi I am a 3 hour 1/2 IM type cyclist and just did the 1/2 there last week and used a 23 9 speed and had no problems and did not get out of the saddle once. The course is the Northern half of the full distance and is more up and down than the southern half. A 25 perhaps would have been better but I found that the rollers were best ridden by staying in the one back cog and shifting the front when reaching the top and spinning down. Just me though.
I did Honu Half last week (IM Kona course from Mani Lani resort to Hawi and return) and did not get out of my large chain ring for my 2:33 bike split. I ran a 11-23 rear cassette.
I rode 100km on Wednesday from Keauhou to Waikoloa at about 2pm and sufferred on the return to Keauhou with a strong head wind - I struggled in my small chain ring! The hills are not too bad though.
what’s the total climbing distance?
True enough… wind = hills
Remember that the Queen K can have some of the most fierce headwinds a rider can experience, couple that in with a hill and the ride is far from flat. I ran a 12/25 and was glad I did. The winds have been known to knock riders off their bikes…
As others have pointed out the hills on the current Kona course are not that bad, but throw in a stiff head wind, and they will seem worse than they really are. 12/25 should be good enough.
IMH vets will remember the old T2 in/out of the Kona Surf hotel at the spouth end of town. There was this little hill only about 100m long, that rose like a wall, just before you had to turn into the Kona Surf property. Of couse it felt much worse than it really was mostly because it came at almost the 112 mile mark.
Fleck
I used an 11-27 last weekend and don’t think I touched the 27, nor even the 24 (at least I think it’s a 25, not a 25). Without wind, even a 3hr 1/2 IM split rider wouldn’t need more than a 23.