Hank: This is the way to start a film. Adrenaline rush. Lactate acid in the legs attacking our
famous climbs in West Yorkshire. My legs are starting to die down. Oh, my gosh. What on
earth is that? I didn't know these could climb? This is going to be a killer video. Yes, you
guessed it, Recumbent versus Killer Climb. It's terrifying. Wait, wait, stop. I've got
a head start of him. Time out. Now, this is the second time a recumbent has
caught my eye. Now, I've come to West Yorkshire. Huddersfield, to be exact. Famous for having
the Tour de Yorkshire here, but also, yes, you guessed it, the Tour de France. Now, the
Tour de France happened over there, in Holme Moss. One of the famous climbs of the Tour
de France. We've also got Scapegoat Hill over there to my left where in the Tour de Yorkshire,
the Wiggins team car didn't actually make it up, but we're not going on that hill, we're
going on this one. Now, this is Bull Green Hill. It's got an
average gradient of 13%, and it's a bit of a killer of a climb with an epic view in the
background. Today, we're going to do a simple hill climb race. Me versus the recumbent pros.
The fastest time to the top of the hill wins. I'm not racing on my canyon ultimate of super
lightweight climbing bike. No, I'm taking on with one of these. Now, these are a low
racer recumbent. As you can remember from the last time that I went on it.
Barney: Smile. Hank: I'm smiling. Crashing, crashing.
Yes, it's quite difficult, even on the flat. That should be interesting on the climb. We've
also got one of these. A mean green machine. Superfast on the flat. Absolutely iconic for
going in land speed records, but how good is it on a climb? Now, I should be finding
out. This could be very interesting, and you hopefully won't see me suffering behind that
little cockpit. It's been a while since I got in a recumbent, but last time, well, I
had Barney's help. Barney, it's good to see you from last time. How you been?
Barney: Good to see you. Great. Hank: Thank you for sorting out all these
recumbents. It's a bit of a bigger challenge this because we're taking on a killer climb,
haven't we? Have you ridden this climb before? Barney: Not on this bike, but I've ridden
it on plenty of uprights and on my old recumbent tandem.
Hank: Is there any advice you can give me for riding a low racer on a climb? Because
while it's difficult on the flat, well, this is going to be a lot more difficult on a climb,
isn't it? Barney: Relax. Keep your weight back on your
shoulders. Weight on your buttocks. Power with those legs, and most importantly, Hank,
smile. Hank: Yes. Funny, I'm not going to forget
that one. [chuckles] Yes, I don't think I'm going to be smiling up that climb, though.
Before we get onto the hill, though, I thought I should get some practice in to refresh my
memory. Woo.
Barney: [chuckles] Hank: Did you get that on camera? [chuckles]
Don't tell me you got that on camera. I've forgotten how to do this now.
Barney: Look up. Look where you want to go and smile. Look where you want to go. Don't
try to steer it. Look where you want to go. Hank: Right, I think I've got it. Not my car.
I can't crash into it. Barney: [laughs]
Hank: Whilst I was learning to ride a recumbent again, Jochen and Neil put times down on the
climb to compare to mine. Barney: Watch out for the gravel, and watch
out for the potholes. They'll have you off. Hank: [chuckles] Oh, [bleep] [bleep] Right,
that was not on purpose. I think we're good to go, Barney. Just shave
off that. Now, this is bringing back memories. Yes,
memories of, well, this is the very recumbent I learned to ride a recumbent on. The only
thing is I'm a bit scared going up a hill on it. Right, anyway, this is a low racer.
The gears I've got in the front is a 70 tooth and a 40. I've got an eight-speed on the front
with that cassette there. It's got a tiller system for the steering. We've managed to
get a hold of two low racers. Over there, you've got a slightly lighter one with a bit
of added suspension. It's got all the unnecessary stripped off it, and you've got a slightly
different steering mechanism on the front there. We'll see, really, how it goes.
Now, I've got a 406 front wheel, and a 559 rear. Let's just, well, see how these go up
a climb. I'm a little bit nervous about this one. Let's just say this fills me with fear.
What I failed to take into account was that the climb starts at the bottom and I, yes,
was right at the top. [chuckles] Aren't you going to crash? Go on,
Neil. [chuckles] Barney: Nice one, Neil.
Hank: If you hear a shout from off the side of the cliff, you'll know who it is. Gosh.
Right, I'm good. No, I'm not. Reset. [bleep] I've got on the low racer. The one I'm probably
most worried about because it's all about balance. I'm in the 48-32. The smallest gear
possible, and, luckily, I've got, well, my angel, my recumbent angel, Barney, behind
me who's going to hold me so that I can get clipped in and off I go, but let's just be,
well, let's be nice to me, yes? This is harder than it looks. Right, Barney, I'm going to
clip in. Have you got me? Barney: I've got you.
Hank: Do you promise? Barney: I promise.
Hank: Are you ready? Barney: Big, big smile, Hank.
Hank: I'm smiling. Barney: I'm ready when you go, mate.
Hank: Three, two, one. Up and off we go. I'm off, I'm off. I'm off. It's a little bit wobbly,
but I've just got to look up. Continue to-- Barney: Look up and smile.
Hank: Continue to- I'm smiling. I'm looking up. I'm trying to balance. Legs are starting
to give in. I might need to just slow it down a little bit. God. I've got a nice little
rhythm. I've got a big gear now. I've just got to try and get up. I've hit the steepest
section. I'm all over the road. I'm nearly there.
Speaker 3: Yay. Time's out. Hank: [breathing heavily] Time out. Savage.
I think I need a smaller gear, but I was weaving up just to keep going, but it's a bit more
difficult lying down and peddling compared to being over the top of the crank. Anyway,
first run done. [exhales] Barney, I think I struggled there. Not sure
why, but I just couldn't get on top of the gear.
Barney: I think you might've actually had it in the big chainring, Hank. You're running
a 70-32. Hank: See, I didn't really focus on what gear
I was in. I was more focused on just holding the balance.
Barney: I saw you weaving away there, so close to the back of the car. Excellent effort,
mate. Hank: Maybe if I go for a smaller gear, that
might help a little bit? Barney: Yes, if we get you on the 40, 8 tooth
there, and then you can choose from the block more easily as you come up next time.
Speaker 3: To be fair, you did well, though. Hank: Thanks, Faye. It didn't feel good, though.
[chuckles] Barney: We loved it. [chuckles]
Hank: [chuckles] Right, next run. In hope for more success, for the next run,
I chose the Alpha 7. You guys find me in this green machine. This
is an Alpha fully-fed velomobile, and it is a rapid bike on the flat. You can top out
around 50 miles per hour with this gearing, and on the point of gearing, I've got an 11-speed
cassette on the back, and I've got a double chainring on the front. I've got a 65 and
a 34. I'm hoping I can make it up that 13% climb in this absolute speed merchant, but
the great thing about these as well is you can store your packed lunch in the back. For
this challenge, no, I'm going fully lightweight. I'm just heading to the bottom of the climb.
It's quite fun going downhill. I feel like I'm in a little carbon coffin.
At this point, though, I realized that turning a circle, yes, isn't that great.
Spin me around. This is where GCN presenters come in useful. Thanks, Marlon.
My next run is in the Alpha. Now, the problem with being in a fully fed carbon coffin is
well, I get no signal from my mike so I've strapped it to the top. It is starting to
rain though so I've got to get a shivvy on. Luckily I've got a nice little hideaway in
here. Right, without further ado, let's kick off. How fast can I get up in the fully-faired
Alpha. 3, 2, 1, let's go. Right, getting nice and
aero now. Feeling good, feeling fast. Aerodynamics isn't working too much in my favor in this
speed. I've got a fairly good workout. All right, go past these guys. Let's pick it up
now. Don't know what speed I'm going but it feels fast. Lactate is all over the legs.
I'm starting to weaken but okay. I think I started off too quick.
Speaker 2: Come on Hank, my granny could walk faster.
Hank: Please tell me this is the top. It's fair to say that was pretty savage. What are
my thoughts on riding the Alpha up our killer climb? Well, let's just say it's not using
its aerodynamic advantage to full potential. I mean I'm sitting at about 5 to 8 mile an
hour. Let's say the aerodynamic drag's not going to be huge. It's quite hard because
lying down and peddling with the crankset so far ahead of you, it's so difficult to
get on top of the gear. It's a lot different to a normal, generic, and well, the bike that
I'm always used to. It's a bit different to get my legs going in the right motion as it
were. I made it up, I didn't fall off like the last one. It was tough, as you can tell
I'm still out of breath. After catching my breath, Jochen challenged
me to a race. Scared of wiping him out with that low racer I chose to pilot the Alpha.
Right, we thought it'd be rude not to give you guys a race up this climb. Now, I'm taking
on Jochen from the Human Power Club. He's on his low racer. I've gone for the fully-fed
Alpha. I'm hoping that these aerodynamic advantages are going to work in my favor. Who knows?
It's all going to be up to this very race. We've got Izzy on the flag. Are we ready?
3, you ready Jochen? 2, 1. I've got a head start.
Jochen I've got a head start there. Starting to spin out. Jochen's still in my wheel, he's
going past me now. He's going past me, no. I'm going about a 100 rpm. He's taken the
lead, oh no. This is where I start to struggle now. Jochen's taken the lead, come on. Jochen's
left me in his wing mirror. I'm slowing down. This steepness is really hurting my legs.
Little tire slip. I can see the finish. It's fair to say Jochen from the Human Power Club
has beaten me on his Low Racer. Got great support from the local cyclists. Now I'm going
to be in this carbon coffin for a while. I'll see you guys in a bit.
[music] Hank: What an incredible day we've had here
in West Yorkshire. Thank you so much to these guys. We've got Jochen, Neil, and Barney,
also we've got Ian there who's been helping with mechanics. It's been an incredible day
with a view across the Pennines. What we really want to know is how do these contraptions
get on with our killer climb. Barney, you going to put me out of our misery.
Barney: Jochen on the Speedmachine was today's speedy man, three minutes and nine seconds.
Neil in the lightweight carbon Alpha, 3 minutes 37.
Hank: My time on the Alpha was four minutes and two seconds. Nearly 30 seconds back on
Neil. Let's just say experience really pays off.
Barney: I'm afraid to say, Hank, at four minutes we had to stop the clock because of all of
your falls. Hank: Right yes. About that, I think I've
added to my scrapes, scars, and bruises with that one. Anyway, I really, really enjoyed
it. Make sure though if you like this video to give it a thumbs up. We want to know if
you want to see more recumbent films. Let us know in the comment section below. Barney,
I hear you've got something for me to try before I leave West Yorkshire.
Barney: Before you leave, this being Yorkshire Day, we've got you some Yorkshire growler.
Hank: Yorkshire growler? Barney: Good solid pie mate.
Hank: Oh, thanks Izzie. That's the biggest growler I've ever seen.
[00:15:58] [END OF AUDIO]