The point of this is not to rub in that I live in the best place for riding. It's a real question, and it could affect parts of my road racing. When a road is really steep, say 14-20%, for a while, is it better to ride a switchback on the inside, which is shorter in distance but steeper in grade, or outside? Or does it even matter?
On a slight aside, have you guys ever heard of the term 'paper boy weave'? I hadn't until this spring, and I totally had to bust it out yesterday, even with a 27 on my back.
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From what I've read, riding the outside is recommended even though the outside is longer. The inside of the switchback can be quite a bit steeper (3-4% more) and can spike your effort up a bit or make you stall out.
Of course, if you can handle the increased effort, the inside line is shorter.
The other thing is that on open roads, the inside line is oncoming traffic.
Thanks, ST!
It's been something I've been thinking about on rides recently, though my ability to play around with it a ton is limited as the roads are open. I have chosen the inner line before and 'stalled.'
If the switchback turns to the right, the inner line is not oncoming traffic.
It matters, and it changes for every corner. Choose the smoothest line that is the most even grade to the next straight. Inside lines are shorter, but the extra pitch can put you in the red zone, which you're probably close to anyway on a climb with switchbacks. I would not recommend the paper boy weave on open roads. :)
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