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FitnessProsBooks.com - The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)
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List Price: $17.95
Our Price: $11.30
Your Save: $ 6.65 ( 37% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Brigham Distributing
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Perfect Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.63
EAN: 9780979257100
ISBN: 0979257107
Label: Brigham Distributing
Manufacturer: Brigham Distributing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 2007-07-01
Publisher: Brigham Distributing
Studio: Brigham Distributing
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Vertical junkies Guide
Comment: If you enjoy the challenge of going vertical on your bike then this book is a must have in your cycling library. Good descriptions with directions, vertical profiles, and some pictures of many great rides in the US. The book can be good motivator to see what is out there and to challenge any rider to go big.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very welcome book, if not thorough
Comment: It's about time someone finally got on the road on their bike all over the country, then sat down writing about the great roads in the United States that are a challenge to go up. Many of the climbs, that is. There's no book like this anywhere, and if you're into traveling with your bike, and riding up the big climbs, this is it.
The book does however fall short for me in a few ways. First, it's layout is somewhat scattered, like it needed better editing in it's organization, but also in it's material. The climbs it covers, it generally does well. It's also by all means not complete, there's no way it could be, but the book contains 50 pages of route profiles at the end. These profiles all generally look similar, and are of little practical use to most riders who will look at them and think, "yep, the road goes up". This space could have been much better used if it contained more climbs. Even if some of the descriptions were rudimentary. For example, in my home state of Oregon - a fairly mountainous state, there are only three climbs listed. But I can easily name 5-6 quality climbs that aren't in the book*. These climbs could probably be summarized on one page. Multiply that by fifty, and 250 more climbs in the US could have been added simply by removing the unneeded profiles.
The author did his best to remain objective with climbs, creating a ratings system to rate them. But even this is bound to create controversy among riders. He often mentions altitude, but without factoring it in. For example, even though Mt. Washington is rated higher than Mt. Evans, Mauna Kea, or Onion Valley Road by his system, I'd rather ride the former as the 14,000' altitude on Mt. Evans (close to it on Mauna Kea), and long steep gradient to 9,100' on Onion Vally is just murderous...to me. And here's where the book may be frustrating to some, sifting through the author's opinions, coupled with his ratings. Adding to this, he lists Most Scenic climbs, which is bound to create some quibbling by riders as well.
Some reviewers are complaining about the maps. They are simple, but to me that is fine. No one in their right mind would drive around the country using the maps in this book as a guide. They are simply meant to show you were the road can be found. From there, it's up to you to use a quality map, Topo!, Google Earth, and other maps or programs to find the details you need. I would however liked to have seen better quality photos of the routes.
Despite my complaints, the author is to be commended most of all for culling all this information, as there's no easy way you could find this out otherwise. While I'm hoping that a second edition pressing will be better edited and more comprehensive, you could spend years going through the entire book, traveling throughout the country, riding these rides.
* Five Oregon climbs that easily could have made the book: Lolo Pass, Larch Mountain, Newberry Crater, McKenzie Pass, Elkhorn Byway.
Customer Rating:
Summary: US Climbs Bible
Comment: I agree with others that this is an excellent addition to the cycling library. Finally a place to find the big US climbs and to find out that they stack up well with those we have watched others climb for yrs. Most (but not all) of the big US climbs are out west which makes senses due to topography. The amount of data on each is quite good and accurate (I have done 20-25 of those listed) and the climbing categories and comparisons are very entertaining. The training sessions and memorable American climbing performances add to the value altthough if you are looking for a comprehensive training guide there are entire books devoted to that subject that you may prefer. As a climber I really like the way the data is presented as well. Maps and directions are clear (I do not understand prior reviews issues with this). I can't wait to get out on some of these climbs!
I think any cyclist will enjoy this book and if you like to climb then you must get this guide.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not even close to "Complete"
Comment: This book is a decent review of several climbs in the US but it is hardly "complete." The useful information in this book could easily be cut down to a couple magazine articles and it would probably have better flow than the book the authors produced. The authors focus only on the most notorious climbs in the US. If you have a subscription of Bicycle Magazine, you've probably already read about these. The section on "climbing technique" is very rudimentary and only a couple pages long. Again, you'll get more useful information from a good magazine subscription.
The organization of the book also leaves a great deal to be desired. The profiles of the various climbs are located in the back of the book, apart from the description of the climb. The descriptions are VERY brief, and more information can be gleaned from the profiles than the brief descriptions. The longest description in the entire book is for Mt Washington and it's less than a page. The descriptions come across as what the authors remember most about the climb, several months after the fact. It's obvious they didn't sit down right after the climb to describe it, because they leave out so many important details. Even using their descriptions to find the climbs would be difficult.
Just the appearance of the book is lackluster. Most of the book uses black and white photos and very simple drawings and maps to describe the routes. There are a couple of color photos but they're just piled into the middle of the book with poor notation. It looks like it was organized by a 12 year old.
This is not to say the book doesn't have a few merits. I enjoyed the lists of the most challenging or steepest climbs in the US, but even those lists seem to be incomplete.
I personally wouldn't recommend paying full price for this book. If you can get a good price on it though, it's not a bad reference to have on the shelf.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Book should be called the Bike Climbers Bible
Comment: I am old and heavy but I still love going UP. I needed a guide to help find climbs and a true rating of one over the other. THE 100 Toughest USA Road Bike Climbs page is worth the price of the book! I have climbed Mt. Washington (#1) 3 times - Equinox (#7) - WhiteFace (#16) - Evens (#20) - Auscutney (#31) and Burke (#50) from the top 50. They are rated correctly - also Mitchell at #85 and Brasstown Bald at #82 are correct in the ratings after climbing them. Note Brasstown Bald is an inflated climb due to the tour - he rates it as a 2.14 Cat 1 - not the Tour of Georgia HC. The maps are great and the directions on how to start the climbs are priceless - you can NOT GET THIS INFORMATION anywhere else. If you are looking to DO climbs and not long winded descriptions of how to or what it looks like GET THE BIBLE!!! This book has changed my vacation planning. Next month is the Death Ride for me and 3 more passes from the book.
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Editorial Reviews:
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The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike) is the ultimate guide to cycling climbing and the most difficult hill climbs in the United States. Included in its 224 pages are sections on training for climbing, memorable climbing performances and other climbing resources. The most difficult U.S. climbs are described in great detail including: - Easy to read directions with maps - Accurate climb information including total elevation gain, length and average/maximum grade - Appendices include multiple climb rankings (most difficult, highest altitude attained, greatest elevation gained, steepest, etc) and profiles of the 100 most difficult American hill climbs. This book contains everything cyclists need to know to locate and tackle the toughest climbs in the U.S.
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