Blake from GMBN 3 min power is probably fairly good. Or " alternative " triathlon. Cx circuit, pump track circuit, hillclimb. Obviously all on the same bike.
The steeper it is - the more favor to the runner. Even a cyclist knows that at enough high gradient it's better to run, or walk. A cycle has much higher efficiency at higher speed but is worse at low speed. And the added weight of the bike contributes to this as well.
Having watched average Joes' run next to pro cyclists in the Alps on the TDF I was pretty certain of the outcome of this race. As always, another great, fun video!
Those average Joe's run next to cyclists for 15 seconds while they've already ridden for 4 hours and more importantly, 30 minutes on that climb to even get to that point
@@Shadowboost I think you're missing the point of this comment. It isn't discrediting the efforts or capabilities of the pros, but just accentuating the advantage a runner has on very steep grades compared to a cyclist.
In a fair test, any given person will likely beat THEMSELF riding up a hill versus running. I can sustain a riding speed up a 12% gradient faster than I sustain running on the flat.
Great and entertaining video to watch. As an avid cyclist, I would have been shocked if Conor won on a 16% climb against an accomplished triathlete like Mark, so no embarrassment there. Nice one guys 👌
The expected result, of course. When grades are this steep, the weight of the bike is a greater handicap, than having wheels is a benefit. It's truly impressive, seeing someone maintain a running gait all the way up a hill with 16-30% grades. In my case, I would need to walk the steep portions.
Can you set up a race that includes Mr Feather and other pro-hill climbers and some good runners. Like a team comp, runners v riders, maybe a TT format. Maybe even a short season, 500m hill, 1km hill, 2km hill?
@@gcn depends on grade... the steeper it is the more it tips in the runners favor. At some point you just can't turn the pedals and you become a runner in terrible shoes pushing a bike.
Absolutely loved this content! I suspected that the runner would win. Sorry Conor, but I honestly don't think Si or Hank would have had a chance either! Maybe Feather? It was a delightful lark anyway. Thank you Conor for being such a good decent sport in such an impossible situation!! Huge respect! Surprised a lung didn't come up at the end! Well done both!
Well, to be fair, the gradient doesn’t apply to the runners of Zwift typically-especially if they just use the Zwift Pod. They can run on a 0% incline on the treadmill up AdZ. LoL.
I knew Mark was going to win. Many years ago I was asked to lead the runners in a marathon on my mtn bike and the first 1 km included a steep 600 m hill. The lead runner went past me to my surprise a la Connor. I had a bit more respect and kept my distance ahead for subsequent hills on the course.
Great sporting attitude from Conor and Mark, that really was good to watch and straight up good fun ! Conor is a powerful dude with a big chassis to propel up that hill so credit where its due but I reckon a smaller framed cyclist might run Mark a bit closer ! Keep stuff like this coming , I love it !
3:50 You know it was a bad climb when both athletes were an absolute wreck in the end and Mark nearly losing balance walking backwards to greet Connor. Outstanding performance!
A few years ago, I ran the beast leg of the Blue Ridge Marathon on a relay team. It was the longest leg of the four relay legs with the biggest climb up to the Roanoke Mountain (highest point in the race). It was faster to walk the steepest sections than try to run it.
Has a runner that due to injury can no longer run. There are a lot of advantages for a runner uphill. I swapped to the the bike, but the cardio system required is so very different. Actually a very interesting video. I would not have guessed the out come. But I figured the runner would win. So interesting to find out for sure:)
Looks like one for Blake from GMBN. Superb short time power and a lot more grip on that slippy road. Also a comparison between the GCN presenters. I wonder how much 1000km ultra climber Ollie gan put down on such a short effort.
Only depends on the gradient and the aptitude of the competators. And the state of the bike. Runners don't need equipment. Can go barefoot theoretically.
GTN triathlon staff is not meant to play with, they are such serious contenders. Mark and Heather are indescribably great. At low speed a runner might have some advantage, also Connor is too big of a human being,, to climb efficiently. Still, Connor did great and climbed like a champ taking into account his super large body, my hats off to him
I would like to see Mark bike vs Mark running in this hill. Then the capasity of the athlete will be the same, only the tools that makes difference. He has muscles that works very well for both diciplines.
It would be great rerunning the experiment, but then with a mountainbike instead, as it has lower gears and connor wasn't in his optimal cadence for most of the run.
Time to level up this race: vertical kilometer, bike vs runner. Go to Fully in Switzerland, and have someone run up the vertical km course, while Andrew Feather climbs the road to the top. C'mon, you know y'all want a trip to Switzerland!
By the way: as mentioned in some comment here: the cycle used in this test has way too high gear for this steepness. The test should have been done with mountainbike gearing for optimal efficiency for the cyclist. The best mountainrunner against the best cycling climber had been interesting! The runner would still surely win, just not with such a big gap as in this case.
Why not show performance statistics at the end? HR, power. How long was the hill? How long was the effort? Try a hill with 1/3 the steepness and 10x longer next time. What grade would be the "crossover point" for Mark and Conor? Pick that hill where the result is more likely to end in a tie.
Not that surprising an outcome imo on that severity of gradient. Somewhat reassuring that a former giro and vuelta rider can still be in huge oxygen debt-----😅😅😅
Some years ago I read an article that (if I remember correctly) said that the “tipping point” is a 17% grade. Anything steeper and the cyclist is at a distinct disadvantage to the runner at the same energy output.
It's basically a question of gearing. A running stride of 1m or less is expending very little energy in moving the legs, so it becomes comparably efficient to cycling. If the bike has a minimum gearing of say 30-32 then it's moving 1m per half-rotation. At or below this ratio, the runner has an advantage because he has unlimited "gears" downwards and is carrying 1 bike less system mass ~10%. Above this ratio, the cyclist starts to gain the advantage because the runner is forced to spend a larger and larger fraction of his power moving his legs.
Huh, this is a really interesting and intuitive way to think about it, thanks for writing this comment. I feel like it should be more complicated than this, but what you've written does make sense to me. I guess traction only becomes a factor if the bike undergoes slipping, or has to decrease power output out of fear of potential slipping. The runner would generally have no traction issues here.
As I watched this video, at first I thought that this was simply a comparison of which activity is most biomechanically efficient for traveling up a steep hill. However, as the video progressed, I began to realize that another variable is present which I had not originally considered. Let's compare the runner with the cyclist: The runner has the weight of his clothes and his running shoes to take up the hill with him. On the other hand, the cyclist has the additional weight of his bicycle, a water bottle, and his helmet, plus he even appeared to have something on his back. A better comparison would be to weigh all these additional things, and after assessing that weight, require the runner to wear a weighted vest equal to the weight of the bicycle, the water bottle, the helmet, and what was on the cyclist's back, or instead, perhaps a rucksack filled with objects equal to that total weight.
I’m not surprised that this guy beat Conor. He certainly would not beat Feather, maybe not even some of the other presenters who are half decent at climbing (e.g. Ollie, Si)
Ok can we just talk about the fact that Mark must have run that road multiple times because he didn't have a body cam and then there were camera angles of his legs while running. But should we be surprised if he ran it multiple times?! Conner said Mark ran a marathon everyday last week.... 😱👏❤️🩹
It was only once as he had a camera in his hand!📷 He did however run a marathon everyday last week! 😱 You can see that video soon on the Global Triathlon network channel!
You should have taken a _mountain_ bike!!! :D Did your cycling computer record your pedaling frequency? I would like to see it on a bike which allows you to maintain 80-120 rpm at the steepest streches. And a gear shift which shifts quickly when gradient changes. A Rohloff would do it with a pinion as large as its spec allows.
But here I think you are better trained than these cyclists. A cycle does not have the disadvantage in headwind as uphills. In steep ascends the weight matters most. In headwind the air resistance. And a cyclist in an aero position has less air resistance than a runner with the straight up body position. But that would be an interesting video: the runner vs cyclist on a flat in strong headwind.
Can we all be agreed that (as much as I love) Connor wasn't the right fellow for this job! Ollie, Hank and the Si are much viable prospects! Commensurations to Connor, you certainly gave your best - just bettered by the triathlete... and if they bring it up, they can always have a go at Mark in a race themselves!!!
Quite interesting. My first thought was that the bike was geared way too high to have hope of winning(correct) but the sort of bike I would be riding would have a really low bottom gear. 18" inches maybe. But pedalling an 18" inch gear at ,say, 90 a minute only propels you at walking pace so the runner is still going to win. I wonder if on that gradient the runner will always win.
Who would you like to see Mark or Conor take on next? 🏆
Blake from GMBN 3 min power is probably fairly good.
Or " alternative " triathlon.
Cx circuit, pump track circuit, hillclimb. Obviously all on the same bike.
Definitively Ollie, because he has the biggest ego
@@DarkpowderUK cyclist vs horse
Also Mark on a bike, same hill, don't worry I don't need to see him swim up it
The Feather.
The steeper it is - the more favor to the runner. Even a cyclist knows that at enough high gradient it's better to run, or walk. A cycle has much higher efficiency at higher speed but is worse at low speed. And the added weight of the bike contributes to this as well.
Ye cannae break the laws of physics
of course, just because the steeper it is, th eweigh of the bike has more impact
Obviously the more rubbish the cyclist is compared to the runner makes a big difference as well. I think Si Richardson might have done slightly better
Great point! Have you ever gotten off the bike to run? 🏃
how about a comparison between rider and runner carrying or pushing his bike? Rider still slower??? choose your poison wisely...
Having watched average Joes' run next to pro cyclists in the Alps on the TDF I was pretty certain of the outcome of this race. As always, another great, fun video!
Drunken average joes with a bottle of beer in one hand.😂
They can only keep up for about 25-50 meters though and they haven't been riding 80 miles before that point of the climb
Those average Joe's run next to cyclists for 15 seconds while they've already ridden for 4 hours and more importantly, 30 minutes on that climb to even get to that point
@@Shadowboost I think you're missing the point of this comment. It isn't discrediting the efforts or capabilities of the pros, but just accentuating the advantage a runner has on very steep grades compared to a cyclist.
In a fair test, any given person will likely beat THEMSELF riding up a hill versus running. I can sustain a riding speed up a 12% gradient faster than I sustain running on the flat.
Great and entertaining video to watch. As an avid cyclist, I would have been shocked if Conor won on a 16% climb against an accomplished triathlete like Mark, so no embarrassment there. Nice one guys 👌
I would like to see that 'little terror' on the BMX take on Mark. Betsy was impressive!
She was incredible! Who do you think would take the win?🏆
@@gcnMark, if the stretch isn longer than 200m
Betsy would beat an F1 car at the start.
BMX Olympic Champion vs Usain Bolt!
Would like to see Mark’s max HR for that one! Nice!
He was sitting comfy! Holding back for sure 👀
The expected result, of course. When grades are this steep, the weight of the bike is a greater handicap, than having wheels is a benefit.
It's truly impressive, seeing someone maintain a running gait all the way up a hill with 16-30% grades. In my case, I would need to walk the steep portions.
Can you set up a race that includes Mr Feather and other pro-hill climbers and some good runners. Like a team comp, runners v riders, maybe a TT format. Maybe even a short season, 500m hill, 1km hill, 2km hill?
This could be interesting! Who do you think would win? We're team cyclists all the way😉
Mark is a pretty good runner (better on longer distances of course). Notice that Connor is dead, while Mark is barely breathing hard.
@@gcn depends on grade... the steeper it is the more it tips in the runners favor. At some point you just can't turn the pedals and you become a runner in terrible shoes pushing a bike.
Absolutely loved this content! I suspected that the runner would win. Sorry Conor, but I honestly don't think Si or Hank would have had a chance either! Maybe Feather? It was a delightful lark anyway. Thank you Conor for being such a good decent sport in such an impossible situation!! Huge respect! Surprised a lung didn't come up at the end! Well done both!
Given the number of time I’ve been overtaken by runners on Alp de Zwift this was not a surprise. Don’t feel too bad Conor.
No shame in being over taken! You've got more chance to soak up the views... the speedy lot don't know what they're missing 👀
Well, to be fair, the gradient doesn’t apply to the runners of Zwift typically-especially if they just use the Zwift Pod. They can run on a 0% incline on the treadmill up AdZ. LoL.
Same thing has happened to me, but I eventually overtake them again as the climb continues to lessen gradient and goes on in length.
Awsome video comparing running to bicycling. Each one sure has its plusses and minuses.
I knew Mark was going to win. Many years ago I was asked to lead the runners in a marathon on my mtn bike and the first 1 km included a steep 600 m hill. The lead runner went past me to my surprise a la Connor. I had a bit more respect and kept my distance ahead for subsequent hills on the course.
RIP to Conor's GCN career. Was a blast having the barn door as a presenter these last few years.
You can find me as a freelance light bulb fitter in a town near you... 😅
@@conordunne1 I heard Mark would be quicker at that too
Great sporting attitude from Conor and Mark, that really was good to watch and straight up good fun ! Conor is a powerful dude with a big chassis to propel up that hill so credit where its due but I reckon a smaller framed cyclist might run Mark a bit closer ! Keep stuff like this coming , I love it !
3:50 You know it was a bad climb when both athletes were an absolute wreck in the end and Mark nearly losing balance walking backwards to greet Connor. Outstanding performance!
A few years ago, I ran the beast leg of the Blue Ridge Marathon on a relay team. It was the longest leg of the four relay legs with the biggest climb up to the Roanoke Mountain (highest point in the race). It was faster to walk the steepest sections than try to run it.
Been there - was passed by a runner on a steep part and all I could say was wait for the downhill on the other side!
LOL roll out the big guns .... Andrew Feather or Si 😂 mind you it does look like an easier hill to run or Connor on an E bike 😵💫
Ebike! Now that could be interesting 👀
So glad I saw this! I use to think bikers had it easy going up hill until I had to climb on a bike! My goodness that looked painful on the bike haha
You guys are nuts the challenges you dream up.
I love it.
You’re such good fun.
Should probably do several of these. There is a tipping point of gradient where running becomes more efficient. What is that tipping point?
OK, that is the uphill portion. What about downhill? Right? Bike wins. Excellent video. Lots of fun. Cheers
Let’s see Andrew feather take him on 😀. There is a local elite runner who loves to bike up a cat 1 climb in a canyon and count the bikes he passes.
Actually when you run in uphill it's more easy than riding the bike.I have tried it and I do both running and riding
I thought I've already seen this. Yes, on GCN German.
Has a runner that due to injury can no longer run. There are a lot of advantages for a runner uphill. I swapped to the the bike, but the cardio system required is so very different.
Actually a very interesting video. I would not have guessed the out come. But I figured the runner would win. So interesting to find out for sure:)
Great little video!! So now we need 2 cyclist v 1 runner 🤔😂😂
Looks like one for Blake from GMBN. Superb short time power and a lot more grip on that slippy road. Also a comparison between the GCN presenters. I wonder how much 1000km ultra climber Ollie gan put down on such a short effort.
This was great! So much fun...not surprised who the winner was, as there's far less to worry about running in terms of balance, among others
Only depends on the gradient and the aptitude of the competators. And the state of the bike. Runners don't need equipment. Can go barefoot theoretically.
Totally want to see the other presented attempt this. These videos are always fun.
No cyclist would beat Mark on that uphill. It’s just too steep to cycle fast.
Not many people would beat mark up a hill 🗻 He's got pace!
Andrew Feather?
@@stevedouglas3975 Exactly what I was thinking
Well thats just not true
The gauntlet has been laid down!!
mostly the weight of the bike. I remember catching up with a runner approaching a 20% hill then the runner pulled away. physics.
They may get us on the steep but we'll take them on the flat 👀
Make it a “rolling start”. Nothing beats a runner the first two meters
You needed to put Feather in that race. Only the best.😉
(before watching) GO GTN!!!
I would like to see the wattage both guys put out. I have the suspicion that Conners numbers are in the wattage bazooka territory.
That was fun. Perfect running form!
It's ok Conor, have to let those GTN guys win every once in a while to keep their spirits up.
Bike will win on flat all day, up hill, a runner will always win! It would be interesting to see Jonas Vingegaard try this challenge though!
Nice race to the too, now double or nothing downhill
Water ... more water Conor 😂😂😂
Next week - Mark versus The Feather. 🥊
There it is!
It would be a very good matchup!🥊
GTN triathlon staff is not meant to play with, they are such serious contenders. Mark and Heather are indescribably great. At low speed a runner might have some advantage, also Connor is too big of a human being,, to climb efficiently. Still, Connor did great and climbed like a champ taking into account his super large body, my hats off to him
It's an occasional feature of fell-running - catching and passing mountain bikers on the uphill sections. I've not done it with any eMTBs though...
Mark vs Ollie. That'll be a good race.
I would like to see Mark bike vs Mark running in this hill. Then the capasity of the athlete will be the same, only the tools that makes difference. He has muscles that works very well for both diciplines.
Where’s Feather when you need him?😂😂
An idea... Manon v Heather up the hill.
or...
Heather vs Conor up the hill.
It would be great rerunning the experiment, but then with a mountainbike instead, as it has lower gears and connor wasn't in his optimal cadence for most of the run.
Our off-road buddies at GMBN have put Mark through his paces 👉 czcams.com/video/SWqlMkG9hkw/video.html
Mark is just an incredible athlete!!!
Time to level up this race: vertical kilometer, bike vs runner. Go to Fully in Switzerland, and have someone run up the vertical km course, while Andrew Feather climbs the road to the top. C'mon, you know y'all want a trip to Switzerland!
By the way: as mentioned in some comment here: the cycle used in this test has way too high gear for this steepness. The test should have been done with mountainbike gearing for optimal efficiency for the cyclist.
The best mountainrunner against the best cycling climber had been interesting! The runner would still surely win, just not with such a big gap as in this case.
Agree...I wonder why the GCN presenters always use such high gears for riding up hills and in the mountains.
@0:08 Hi Cycling! I'm Internet Stranger telling a dad joke.
the running technique is something worthy to learn from.
A time trial challenge between the two of them would also be worthwhile watching.
Why not show performance statistics at the end? HR, power. How long was the hill? How long was the effort? Try a hill with 1/3 the steepness and 10x longer next time. What grade would be the "crossover point" for Mark and Conor? Pick that hill where the result is more likely to end in a tie.
Awesome, very entertaining 👍
Ollie's turn next 😍😍
Not that surprising an outcome imo on that severity of gradient. Somewhat reassuring that a former giro and vuelta rider can still be in huge oxygen debt-----😅😅😅
So much easier to run up a hill, you have instant power and no extra weight of a bike.
Some years ago I read an article that (if I remember correctly) said that the “tipping point” is a 17% grade. Anything steeper and the cyclist is at a distinct disadvantage to the runner at the same energy output.
Mark doing 7 marathons the week before, nuts! 😂💪
Downhill next!
Oh Deer gawd "Daddy-Longlegs" has been beaten, good one Mark.
Running is love🎉
Great content! 🎉
Now that is one steep hill, what an effort.
It's basically a question of gearing. A running stride of 1m or less is expending very little energy in moving the legs, so it becomes comparably efficient to cycling. If the bike has a minimum gearing of say 30-32 then it's moving 1m per half-rotation. At or below this ratio, the runner has an advantage because he has unlimited "gears" downwards and is carrying 1 bike less system mass ~10%. Above this ratio, the cyclist starts to gain the advantage because the runner is forced to spend a larger and larger fraction of his power moving his legs.
Huh, this is a really interesting and intuitive way to think about it, thanks for writing this comment.
I feel like it should be more complicated than this, but what you've written does make sense to me. I guess traction only becomes a factor if the bike undergoes slipping, or has to decrease power output out of fear of potential slipping. The runner would generally have no traction issues here.
I would like to see Oli B take on Mark at this and then spend a few minutes explaining the physics of it (as above)
Get feather on the hardest climb in Europe. Valley of Tears in GC.
Wow I stand in awe
He should race The Feather.
Also thode two should race a TT see who wins.
Next up- running in cycling shoes vs cycling
As I watched this video, at first I thought that this was simply a comparison of which activity is most biomechanically efficient for traveling up a steep hill. However, as the video progressed, I began to realize that another variable is present which I had not originally considered. Let's compare the runner with the cyclist: The runner has the weight of his clothes and his running shoes to take up the hill with him. On the other hand, the cyclist has the additional weight of his bicycle, a water bottle, and his helmet, plus he even appeared to have something on his back. A better comparison would be to weigh all these additional things, and after assessing that weight, require the runner to wear a weighted vest equal to the weight of the bicycle, the water bottle, the helmet, and what was on the cyclist's back, or instead, perhaps a rucksack filled with objects equal to that total weight.
The one gentleman who eats jam sandwiches. The hill climber. He should face him next.
Lets see Hank or Si against Mark! Well done guys anyway!
Hank could do a sprint challenge with Mark? 👀
@@gcn sure he can, he is a machine in a human body!😁
Time for a triathlon for Connor 😉
I’m not surprised that this guy beat Conor. He certainly would not beat Feather, maybe not even some of the other presenters who are half decent at climbing (e.g. Ollie, Si)
maybe this is the fuel conor needs to do an Ollie and become one of the strongest presenters.... BEAT BY A RUNNER!!! HAHAHA
Ok can we just talk about the fact that Mark must have run that road multiple times because he didn't have a body cam and then there were camera angles of his legs while running. But should we be surprised if he ran it multiple times?! Conner said Mark ran a marathon everyday last week.... 😱👏❤️🩹
It was only once as he had a camera in his hand!📷 He did however run a marathon everyday last week! 😱 You can see that video soon on the Global Triathlon network channel!
Come on! Connor?! Next should be Hank and then Andrew Feather. They should crush it!!
To make it fair, Mark should have to carry a bike as he ran up the hill.
Hank should take Mark on.
Conor, Downhill. You should have raced him downhill!
Imagine how fast Mark could have been if he’d worn 2 of the same shoes 😂
Haha! Gotta love that quirkiness!
You should have taken a _mountain_ bike!!! :D
Did your cycling computer record your pedaling frequency? I would like to see it on a bike which allows you to maintain 80-120 rpm at the steepest streches. And a gear shift which shifts quickly when gradient changes. A Rohloff would do it with a pinion as large as its spec allows.
Should have made it a race up and down again, think that might have gone a bit better 😉
Ollie needs to take on Mark next!🤔😂
It's also fun to overtake cyclists while im running when it's very windy 👍
But here I think you are better trained than these cyclists. A cycle does not have the disadvantage in headwind as uphills. In steep ascends the weight matters most. In headwind the air resistance. And a cyclist in an aero position has less air resistance than a runner with the straight up body position.
But that would be an interesting video: the runner vs cyclist on a flat in strong headwind.
Can we all be agreed that (as much as I love) Connor wasn't the right fellow for this job! Ollie, Hank and the Si are much viable prospects! Commensurations to Connor, you certainly gave your best - just bettered by the triathlete... and if they bring it up, they can always have a go at Mark in a race themselves!!!
Quite interesting. My first thought was that the bike was geared way too high to have hope of winning(correct) but the sort of bike I would be riding would have a really low bottom gear. 18" inches maybe. But pedalling an 18" inch gear at ,say, 90 a minute only propels you at walking pace so the runner is still going to win. I wonder if on that gradient the runner will always win.
Conor sounds like Stewie on Family Guy - that was not a "Loss" - it was an S-T-A-N-N-I-H-I-L-A-T-I-O-N
Is it just me or running downhill can be harder then going up? Also, you should compare someone riding uphill vs someone carrying a bike uphill.
GCN: we need a MAN to go up a hill against a runner
Conor: where is Andrew Feather??
No longer feel bad about pushing my bike up a super steep bit
Awesome
It wasn't even close!
I see the special effects department of GCN used slow motion effects in the production of this video, was that really necessary.
It’s like Zwift IRL! lol
I remember about 25 years ago when a runner first beat a horse in the man vs horse vs bike race...
You might need to draft in The Feather.