What happens when an ex-junior national hill climb champion races a Raleigh Chopper up one of the steepest climbs in London? That's the question we answer in this video. Joe Baker takes the 18.5 kilo bike up Swains lane in London at the Urban Hill Climb event which is organised by the London Cycling Campaign. The climb is 900 metres long, averages at 8% but is home to a brutal 20% ramp. The Raleigh Chopper was created in 1972 and now has a cult following mainly from fans of E.T., The Goonies, and more recently Stranger Things. So, watch on to find out how this legendary bike fares against this legendary climb.
00:13Hill climbing is probably the toughest discipline in cycling that you've never heard of.
00:17In the months of September and October every year in the UK
00:20you can always find a group of cyclists racing up the most hellish gradient they can find
00:24in what can only be described as second degree fun.
00:27And the format for these events is pretty simple actually.
00:30Basically it's rider against the clock up the steepest piece of tarmac that the organisers can realistically find.
00:36Which is why today we are here at Swains Lane in London for the nichest of niches, an urban hill climb.
00:43Sam has dragged me here today to Swains Lane which is arguably one of the toughest climbs in the capital.
00:48900 metres, an 8% average gradient might not sound like much but this one is going to hurt.
00:5420% maximum gradients, full gas racing and Sam's even got a little trick up his sleeve which is going to make my day even more painful.
01:02That's absolutely right. As an ex-junior hill climb champ I think that you've already got enough of an advantage over pretty much everybody here.
01:09So I've brought along this.
01:18This is the Rally Chopper. Now it was created back in 1972 and then it went on to become really popular in the 80s.
01:25Thanks to films like ET, The Goonies and then more recently Stranger Things.
01:29So this bike really does have a proper cult following which is why you're going to be riding it today.
01:36So Joe, how are you actually feeling about this challenge?
01:38Well, as much as I'm not looking forward to lugging all 18 kilograms of this bike up Swains Lane today, I think it does fit the ethos of the event quite well.
01:47There's Brompton categories today, there's two categories for cargo bikes.
01:51So I think actually I'm not going to be quite as out of place as I might be in a traditional hill climb.
01:57You're going to fit right in to be honest. So if you had a goal for today though, what would you like to achieve?
02:02Well, to put things into perspective, I think the course record for this climb is around just over the one minute mark.
02:08I had a look at what the best Brompton time was last year and that was about 2 minutes 12.
02:12I will genuinely be over the moon with anything less than three and a half minutes.
02:16Three and a half minutes. Okay, I reckon we make that the target for the day.
02:20And if you can get under three and a half, I'd be very impressed.
02:23And actually, to be honest, I'll be impressed if this bike makes it to the top in one piece.
02:50I'm between that and the other guys.
02:52So come on, George Dean!
02:56Come on boys!
02:57Come on, look up, look up!
03:00Oh, Jesus...
03:02Yeah!
03:08Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!
03:32Yeah!
03:35Yeah!
03:36Yeah!
03:38Ha ha!
03:40Oh!
03:42Yeah!
03:44Oh!
03:46Oh!
03:48Oh!
03:50No!
03:52Oh!
03:56Oh!
03:58I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
04:12How are you feeling, Joe?
04:14Yeah, it's been a while since I've felt like this, to be honest.
04:18Yeah, it was really good fun, though.
04:20I chucked it into gear two to start on the less steep bit,
04:23and it pinged into gear three.
04:25My legs went like, oh.
04:25So I sat back down, knocked into one,
04:30sort of measured my effort on the less steep section,
04:33and then when it kicked up, just dropped the bike.
04:35Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:37It was good.
04:42So, Joe, how'd you get on?
04:43You know what?
04:44All in all, not too bad.
04:46I think pacing, as I mentioned earlier on Cameron, was pretty good.
04:51With hindsight, actually, I think the pacing was better than I realised.
04:53Initially, I thought maybe I went out a little bit too easy,
04:56but with hindsight, I think I got it pretty much spot on.
04:59So happy with how I rode and pretty happy with the time as well.
05:02So put us out of our misery.
05:04What was your time?
05:05Two minutes 21 is the official time.
05:08But the thing is, I think we need to put some of that into context
05:10because I think the winning time of the day
05:12or the fastest time of the day was 1.17 or 1.18.
05:16It was about that.
05:17So essentially, you were a minute off the quickest of the day.
05:21And we know people have gone slower as well.
05:23Yeah, and in fairness, I'd be really interested to see
05:24how that compares to the Bromptons as well.
05:26Because as I said last year,
05:27I think it was 2 minutes 12 or something was the quickest Brompton time.
05:31But yeah, we'd have to see.
05:33I'd be really chuffed with that as well.
05:34To be honest, I'm pretty glad I made you come up on this bike
05:36because the amount of love that the Rally Chopper has had today
05:39has been phenomenal.
05:40Absolutely.
05:41People have been throwing it back to their past.
05:43Kids have been loving it.
05:44So all in all, a fantastic day at the Urban Hill Climb.
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