Bicycle Science
Here are some calculators that will help you determine how much
power you can generate and what type of gears you need to get up the
tough hills
What Gears Do I Need ?
The calculator below will help you determine what gears you need
to get up a
hill of the specified grade. Just change the default values on the
fields below to match the your weight, hill grade, gears, that you
want. The required power and cadence will be calculated. For
reference a serious recreational cyclist can generate around 200 watts
of continious power and may be able to do short stretches of 250-300 watts.
You normally want to keep the cadence at least 60 or higher for efficiency.
How Much Power Can I Produce?
The calculator below will help make a rough estimate of much
continious power you can produce. To use this calculator find a flat
section of road on a windless day and accelerate to the highest speed
that comfortable maintain for a while. Use this speed in the
calculator. The drag coefficient for a normal rider is usually between
0.25(racing tuck) and 0.4 (sitting up). You can enter a head wind to
see how much extra power it takes to over come the wind.