How to hillstart on a steep lane

[Mick F]

Climbed a 20% hill yesterday that was smooth and wide. Zig zagging would have been easy, and if I'd had to stop, I could have gone across at right angles to get going easily. The road must've been 20ft or more wide.

Ride yesterday was 105ft per mile.

[tempsperdu]

Hill starts easy - for me.
Set the crank arm just past tdc with lowest gear.
Brakes full on.
Stand on pedals and release brakes and off you go.
Need weight forward to avoid a manual or back flip.

[Vorpal]

I should have thought that if a road was wide enough for a rider to be able to start by riding at an angle to the kerb sufficient to lessen the effective gradient, then they would be unlikely to have to stop in the first place to allow a vehicle to overtake.

I can zig zag enough to help a bit with only 2 metres width. I tried it yesterday. The difficult task was finding the angle where I got the most help, but could still make the turn from zig to zag whilst going so slowly.

[PRL]

Hill starts easy - for me.
Set the crank arm just past tdc with lowest gear.
Brakes full on.
Stand on pedals and release brakes and off you go.
Need weight forward to avoid a manual or back flip.

Assuming the ability to balance long enough on a stationary bike whilst you get you feet on the pedals.
This is definitely the feature of my cycling that is falling off with age.

[flat tyre]

If the uphill road is that narrow that a car cannot get past I wouldn't stop as stopping wouldn't help the following car i.e. they still wouldn't be able to safely pass. If there is a passing place I'll pull in but won't stop there if I don't think I can get started again.

[Mick F]

I can zig zag enough to help a bit with only 2 metres width.

I think any competent cyclist could too.
The main problem round here - and no doubt other areas as well - is that narrow roads often have thick and dense grass in the middle.

[Vorpal]

I can zig zag enough to help a bit with only 2 metres width.

I think any competent cyclist could too.
The main problem round here - and no doubt other areas as well - is that narrow roads often have thick and dense grass in the middle.

I did note in a prior post that it obviously won't work if there is greenery growing down the middle.

[Mick F]

Lots of it on some lanes here. Not so bad in the winter as the banks die back so it gives more room.
Half the problem is the middle bit, and the other half is the brambles and bracken whacking you on the head and arms!

[NetworkMan]

Only intended as an observation and not as a criticism.... When I wrote the original post I tried to convey an impression of the conditions to the reader. "Picture this...." etc. I probably failed because I think I can tell which responses come from riders living in the South West and I'm sure MickF can too

[eileithyia]

Well somehow managed one, after Team Wiggins motorhome decided to do a multi-point turn in front of us on Whinlatter, at least the driver was on the right wavelength and apologiesed for messing up the strava segment

[tempsperdu]

.............falling off with age.