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.
02:50Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!
02:59Oh, Jesus.
03:00Come on, Toronto man!
03:02Yeah!
03:08Boxer! Boxer! Boxer!
03:32Boxer! Boxer!
03:37Boxer!
03:40Boxer!
03:45Boxer! Boxer!
03:47I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
04:11How are you feeling, Joe?
04:14Yeah, it's been a while since I've felt like this, to be honest.
04:17Yeah, it was really good fun though.
04:20I chucked it into gear two to start on the less steep bit, and it pinged into gear three.
04:24My legs went like, oh, sat back down, knocked into one, sort of measured my effort on the
04:32less steep section, and then when it kicked up, just dropped the bike.
04:35Full gas.
04:36Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:37It was good.
04:42So, Joe, how did you get on?
04:44You know what?
04:45Well, 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.
04:54Initially, I thought maybe I went out a little bit too easy, but with hindsight, I think I
04:58got 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 because I think the winning
05:11time of the day, or 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, and we know people have
05:22gone slower as well.
05:22Yeah, and in fairness, I'd be really interested to see how that compares to the Bromptons
05:26as well, because as I said last year, I think it was 2 minutes 12 or something was the quickest
05:31Brompton time.
05:32But 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, because the amount of
05:37love that the Rally Chopper has had today has 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.
05:47If you guys enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel
05:51for more content, and we will see you again very soon.
