Flatest Route

[btj]

Not sure how well it works, but this will supposedly give the flattest route between two places:

http://www.flattestroute.com/

[mstone]

@btj 51603 wrote:

Not sure how well it works, but this will supposedly give the flattest route between two places:

http://www.flattestroute.com/

the color codes seem to be reflecting my experience fairly well–that’s a nifty site

[Terpfan]

Interesting. The little section of Westgrove I sometimes take has a small slimmer of blue (evidently it’s only 10% slope there at it’s worst), but Beacon Hill is only a yellow. I’m afraid to see red or black as that little blue portion I ride is barely acheiveable in the lowest of gears after 12 miles of riding home, i can’t imagine anything steeper.

[mstone]

@Terpfan 51671 wrote:

Interesting. The little section of Westgrove I sometimes take has a small slimmer of blue (evidently it’s only 10% slope there at it’s worst), but Beacon Hill is only a yellow. I’m afraid to see red or black as that little blue portion I ride is barely acheiveable in the lowest of gears after 12 miles of riding home, i can’t imagine anything steeper.

It looks like it’s based on terrain elevation, and can’t account for local conditions like a built-up or dug-down roadway. Over longer distances it seems pretty good, but it will miss small rough spots. (But that’s probably not a real issue for normal use.) I wonder if they can make a version for Dirt that maximizes elevation gain.

[creadinger]

This is pretty cool, but I’ll have to try it out on routes different than my commute. I’m not a real fan of the color grading because it considers the steepest parts of Good Hope Rd and Mass Ave SE, the same as the little bumps on the MVT near DCA. I can assure you, they are not the same.

Using this to avoid unnecessary hills though could be useful.

[Steve O]

The gradations are too large. A 5% grade is by no stretch of the imagination “Easy” Easy might by up to 2% perhaps.

[Terpfan]

@Steve O 51848 wrote:

The gradations are too large. A 5% grade is by no stretch of the imagination “Easy” Easy might by up to 2% perhaps.

Your perspective may change if you hit a few 7-8% and a 10% grade every night

[Steve O]

@Terpfan 51856 wrote:

Your perspective may change if you hit a few 7-8% and a 10% grade every night

I ride up 41st St (Mur de Chain Bridge) on a regular basis. Strava says that is 12.8% and I think it’s about the steepest hill around these here parts.
The Stoneybrook Hill by the Mormon Temple is 5.4%, barely out of “Easy.”

In fact, it would seem that there are no hills around here that qualify for very difficult, let along “Too *wheeze* steep.”

I guess it depends a lot on what you are riding for. For Tour de France training I might be convinced. For biking around town getting groceries and pulling kids in trailers, 3-4% grades are not in the slightest “easy.”

[DaveK]

@Steve O 51877 wrote:

I ride up 41st St (Mur de Chain Bridge) on a regular basis. Strava says that is 12.8% and I think it’s about the steepest hill around these here parts.
The Stoneybrook Hill by the Mormon Temple is 5.4%, barely out of “Easy.”

In fact, it would seem that there are no hills around here that qualify for very difficult, let along “Too *wheeze* steep.”

I guess it depends a lot on what you are riding for. For Tour de France training I might be convinced. For biking around town getting groceries and pulling kids in trailers, 3-4% grades are not in the slightest “easy.”

The kicker at the top of 41st St is well over 12.8%. Double that, maybe? I think someone on this board has actually put a level on it.

[Author]

Posts