Hill of Howth

zorkmundsson

Part two in an occasional series.

I'm a bit of a noob, but would the hill up to Howth Summit be considered short, but steep? Because that's what it feels like to me.

Ghost Rider

From what direction? Going up through Howth village sure as sh*t feels steep to me, relatively short though it is.

In fact, I sometimes wonder how it would compare to any of the hills on the Wicklow 200...

zorkmundsson wrote: »

Part two in an occasional series.

I'm a bit of a noob, but would the hill up to Howth Summit be considered short, but steep? Because that's what it feels like to me.

Chips Lovell

Às Ghost said, the village side is a bit steep, particularly near the start. Very short though.

I don't think either side compares with the W200 climbs. Neither is near long enough and the gradients on the Sutton side are just too gentle.

zorkmundsson

el tonto wrote: »

Às Ghost said, the village side is a bit steep, particularly near the start. Very short though.

I don't think either side compares with the W200 climbs. Neither is near long enough and the gradients on the Sutton side are just too gentle.

yeah i'm going up the village side, up abbey street, past the church, ba mizu etc.

that's what i thought. short, but steep.

kona

zorkmundsson wrote: »

yeah i'm going up the village side, up abbey street, past the church, ba mizu etc.

that's what i thought. short, but steep.

try it on a dh rig with 9 gears.............road bikes are for sisys!!!:D:D:p

the fact that the road sinks and dips, and stupid parking on corners make it quite perilous especially with boys racers in civics with the schap at 90:D:D

zorkmundsson

kona wrote: »

try it on a dh rig with 9 gears.............road bikes are for sisys!!!:D:D:p

the fact that the road sinks and dips, and stupid parking on corners make it quite perilous especially with boys racers in civics with the schap at 90:D:D

speaking of road surfaces, the tarmaccing (?) on the road near the water in howth is amongst the worst i've ever encountered (outside the fish and chip shops, ice-cream parlours, yacht club etc).

peterk19

kona wrote: »

try it on a dh rig with 9 gears.............road bikes are for sisys!!!:D:D:p

Na try it on a Fixie now thats how it should be done :eek:

kona

zorkmundsson wrote: »

speaking of road surfaces, the tarmaccing (?) on the road near the water in howth is amongst the worst i've ever encountered (outside the fish and chip shops, ice-cream parlours, yacht club etc).

ha ha i dont fancy going over that with 100psi in the tyres:D:D

the 150mm travel comes into it own there, super plush.
but ye fro terachrete to balscadden is a total joke, i reckon a bombed road in afghanistan would be in better nick:D

they are digging it up now tho

kona

peterk19 wrote: »

Na try it on a Fixie now thats how it should be done :eek:

does a bmx count:o:D

its a leg burner allright, thank **** for the summit shop......or pub depending on how you feel:D:D:D

peterk19

kona wrote: »

does a bmx count:o:D

its a leg burner allright, thank **** for the summit shop......or pub depending on how you feel:D:D:D

lol a bmx would be a challenge alright, aye I've been tempted to visiting the pub on a few occasions when i get up to the top actually the trip back down the hill on a fixie is probably worse than going up I've had to rest my legs on the forks on a few occasion

kona

peterk19 wrote: »

lol a bmx would be a challenge alright, aye I've been tempted to visiting the pub on a few occasions when i get up to the top actually the trip back down the hill on a fixie is probably worse than going up I've had to rest my legs on the forks on a few occasion

lol, fixies, they are cool, but are torture!!!lol
freehubs al the way!!:D:D

the new kona 29s look sweet, they are SS too.not fixed tho.

Raam

all routes up are short, but if you do it enough times it gets tough.
Instead of going up the normal ways, try these two variations that I have highlighted.
The one in the village involves going up the right hand side of the church, then when you get on a bit more, you take a right onto Windgate Road.
For the one on the Sutton side you go up through St. Fintans and rejoin the main road.

zorkmundsson

Raam wrote: »

all routes up are short, but if you do it enough times it gets tough.
Instead of going up the normal ways, try these two variations that I have highlighted.
The one in the village involves going up the right hand side of the church, then when you get on a bit more, you take a right onto Windgate Road.
For the one on the Sutton side you go up through St. Fintans and rejoin the main road.

cool, looks good. did it twice on sunday, didn't really feel it at the time but the ride home into the bastarding wind was an ordeal afterwards.

Ghost Rider

The quality of the road surface from Sutton Cross all the way into Howth village is shocking but, yeah, that's easily the worst part. Hold on to your fillings, I say.

zorkmundsson wrote: »

speaking of road surfaces, the tarmaccing (?) on the road near the water in howth is amongst the worst i've ever encountered (outside the fish and chip shops, ice-cream parlours, yacht club etc).

Raam

Ghost Rider wrote: »

The quality of the road surface from Sutton Cross all the way into Howth village is shocking but, yeah, that's easily the worst part. Hold on to your fillings, I say.

Every time I take the main road into the village I remember why I normally avoid it. Thankfully the surface over the hill is mostly fine

Dirk Gently

Just done it today and I hear what your saying about the bit at the village. Last time I climbed howth I done it on a front suspension mtb, up around the steep side and rocketed back down the sutton strand side, literally rolling all the way back down to sutton cross. Today was disapointing though. Done it on an fcr and the village bumpy surface shocked me, the climb wasn't bad but my reward coming down the other side wasn't as sweet as on the mtb. The wind bashed against me going down and I braked gently at every turn because I didn't trust my armadillos to grip the road at them speeds.

Anyone recommend a tyre with good grip which I can go all out on taking bends at speed. I was kicking myself that I hadn't got my mtb coming back down the hill and as Kona says, 150mm fork was going through my mind as I bitterly smiled while bouncing all over the road at the harbour.

Chips Lovell

clown bag wrote: »

...but my reward coming down the other side wasn't as sweet as on the mtb. The wind bashed against me going down and I braked gently at every turn because I didn't trust my armadillos to grip the road at them speeds. Anyone recommend a tyre with good grip which I can go all out on taking bends at speed.

I had a set of Armadillos for a while and used to do that run at least once a week. Never had a problem with grip and wasn't braking either.

Dirk Gently

el tonto wrote: »

I had a set of Armadillos for a while and used to do that run at least once a week. Never had a problem with grip and wasn't braking either.

Good stuff, I'll let loose next time. Just didn't trust the grip today as it was my first time doing it on armadillos.

Stereophonic

El Tonto, quick matter of interest... what cassette are u using atm. Would 11-23 Cassette give you the most torque (Pedal power) down the hills? Currently on 25-27 and 53-39 Front rings but go into spins on descents. Would reducing the cassette help?

Raam

Stereophonic wrote: »

El Tonto, quick matter of interest... what cassette are u using atm. Would 11-23 Cassette give you the most torque (Pedal power) down the hills? Currently on 25-27 and 53-39 Front rings but go into spins on descents. Would reducing the cassette help?

Assuming you are using the 53/11 combination on the way down, that would be the "fastest" gear available on your setup.

Can you get smaller than an 11?

Chips Lovell

Using 53/39 on the front and 12/25 on the back. If you're spinning out, sure an 11 would help but I don't know if it's worth it just for going down the Hill of Howth alone.

Hermy

As far as I know an 11 tooth sprocket is the smallest available but a lot of advice I have read would suggest avoiding the 11 because it is mechanically less efficient and less durable. Mind you that didn't stop me buying an Ultegra 11 - 23.