After a challenge – must be 100% rideable but I dont mind very technical or steep. offroad please

Obvious-Jacobs Ladder.

People have ridden up Jacob’s Ladder in the Peak. But not many and fewer still can prove it.

Really? anyone ridden anything more challenging?

Jacobs Ladder – doable if you’re a pro-elite, everyone else has to settle for how much they can actually do!

Garburn Pass is a good challenge from the Troutbeck side. It’s all rideable in one go, I’ve done it a few times but probably only about 1 in every 3 or 4 attempts of mine is successful.

Two other passes in the Lakes: Walna Scar from Seathwaite and Gatescarth Pass (from Sadgill over to Haweswater). Neither are particularly technical, it’s the combination of length and gradient that kills you!

Try riding up Cavedale if you prefer.

It might help if you tell us what climbs you have already managed…

Personally, I can just about make it up “house of pain” next to Ladybower and about 1/3 of the way up Jacobs, so my version of a rideable climb is far below many people’s.

Video evidence of you pishing up it by tomorrow arvo please.

Sorry lots of peak based climbs:

Stanage causeway is very doable (done with a dab), the plantation I think might be just doable, I had a go this afternoon and did all except a short step near the hair pin.

Clough lane at Bamford – there is a hill climb challenge every summer, in the dry this would be doable (not done it)

Ladybower up to winstone lee tor via the old barns is doable (1 dab)cut gate from lansett is good but not too hard, from the other direction (ladybower)is a distint possibility (not come too close yet)

There are a few of my local projects.. 🙂

I think I once rode up Loughrigg terrace above Grasmere. I was pleased but in retrospect that I think it must be easy

Howden Burn from Dreghorn is a good climb in the Pentlands – a lot of Edinburgh riders on here will know it. It’s very tough, but probably doable for average riders on our best day (that day has not yet dawned for me, yet ;))

Doubt it would give an elite racer too much difficulty – their legs just have the extra gear for when things start getting seriously hard.

One Pentlands climb that would ask a few questions of even the strongest is to ride all the way up to Scald Law from the west – there’s a rideable path up to the ridge but it’s silly hard.

Hardest has to be Jacobs ladder..I fell off trying to ride up the bank of the stream – 2m into the climb! I now only do Jacobs coming down

Jacob’s is a good choice.

Snowdon/Llanberis path would be an interesting challenge. I think I could ride everything bar the steep section up to the railway tunnel, but not sure I could do it in one go – certainly not on the bike that would be most fun for coming back down again.

Chapel Gate used to be borderline doable, but I think it’s too eroded now (in the gully anyway).

Cut Gate from Ladybower is a good one. I can ride all of it, but I’ve never managed to do the whole thing in a oner – usually make the (hard) corners, then screw up the (easier) straight bits.

Agreed with Snowdon, the Llanberis path is doable until just after the last but one station, it then kicks up and the surface is (was?) too loose to be able to ride it

What’s so hard about jacobs? Long, steep, technical, exposed? All 4?

Yeah pretty much all 4, gets quite steep toward the top but whole climb is full of rocks which makes picking a line very hard

Aren’t there a few 3ft steps at the start of the llanberis path?
Or do you just get up on the grass on the high side & call that riding the trail?

Not that i can remember? Though it’s been a couple of years since i did it last

I did the Llanberis path earlier in the year – about 80% rideable I think. The piece after Clogwyn Station is too steep to ride for anyone I reckon. The bit up to the summit now entails a series of big granite steps.

thanks for the advice. I generally ride man made stuff so I expect somewhere like cwm carn is the hardest clinb to clean. I have ridden some natural climbs like snowdon, high street and ben lomond but had to hike a bike on all of these.

Helvellyn with no dabs. I’m pretty sure it’s been done but I’ve forgotten the loons name.

No disrespect (or willy waving) but Cwm carn is a piece of pi$$ compared to those mentioned above (ok i do struggle on a rooty section at CC but have cleaned it the majority of times and I’m no climber)

Allermuir on the Pentlands…SW approch alongside the fence, 😮

Helvellyn! Which way? I The dodds are rideable as are the zig zags out of kepple cove but they both lead to lowerman which is impossible on a bike. Can’t see any other feasible way up.

Skiddaw bridleway could be done if you had the legs, jenkin being the very steep hard bit which you’d need elite level fitness to get up.

I find cwm carn hard to climb in one hit with no dabs but not physically challenging. I normally do a few laps. Maybe should state the climbs on some sort of scale e.g. cwm carn 7/10 for technical and 5/10 for physical.I am not an elite cyclist!

The hardest bit about Cwmcarn is remembering to change gear in time for the short, steep concrete slope… 🙂

who are you riding gods? jacobs ladder is nigh on impossibe didnt the pros have to reccy it and failed it many times over the few days trying it before 2 of the 3 cleared it. I would be impressed to see anyone ride the top section alone let alone with the lead in
Snowdon is 80% doable are we riding the same mountain?
Using these bench marks I will say skiddaw. Not technical just steep.

Nevis is legal now isn’t it? Just thinking…

This jacobs thing sounds pretty tempting, might have to make a weekend of it. How long does it take to ride, and what’s the best season to try it?

I keep seeing Kepple Cove – would like to see it done

“jacobs ladder is nigh on impossibe didnt the pros have to reccy it and failed it many times over the few days trying it before 2 of the 3 cleared it. “

Which is why it fits the OP’s request for the Hardest rideable climb in the UK.

What of the Beast? is that allowed.

I cleaned Jacobs twice in a day, on a fixed 69’er SS running a 32/11 and a new set of mary bars.

I only did it twice because I’d left my hip single malt filled surly hip flask at the top.

I do admit that the descent would of been quicker if my beard had not of created so much drag.

my hero what tyres though 😛
Colin barely climabable by pros is probably not within the grasp of any weekends warrior except for the BS ones. That said fair point.

my hero what tyres though

Porcupines of course (the best tire ever made, and the only ones i’ll use) I have some ‘new old stock’ in my attic. It’s a bugger getting the one on the 29’er front wheel, i have to leaver them on with a tyre lever fashioned from an old Ramones record, which of course is the only man made object strong enough for the job.

the final short sharp steep climb that takes you to spookywood from the shortcut route. The one you can see people walk up if your sitting on the benches. Its only about 30m in length but i’ve cleared it a few times. Bit easier now your going down that during the diversions before shooting onto broon trout

The beast is definately doable, I tried it a while back when it was a bit wet and had two dabs I think, previous to that I just thought it would be impossible