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Old 11-27-2013, 06:43 PM   #55 (permalink)
NachtRitter
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bikenfool View Post
There are a lot of inputs, such as the length of the flat section, & the length & grade of the climb, but I don't see a way to eliminate the flat section and have a good comparison.
OK

Quote:
Originally Posted by bikenfool View Post
All true, & traffic typically forces the issue anyway. But if you knew what the best solution was for a typical grade wouldn't you at least try it?
If your question here is related to the two methods you describe, which include an arbitrary length of flat section and an arbitrary fixed amount of time to cover both the flat section and the hill, then my answer would be no. If instead you are asking only about the best method (which in this context means getting the best FE) for getting up a grade from base to crest, then I think it would be interesting academically but my intuition tells me that there wouldn't be enough of a difference to change my behavior. I would still do what feels right at the time based on the conditions (choosing between P&G and DWL), since I know either approach will be better than using cruise control or flooring the pedal to maintain speed uphill.
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