Manon: How much difference does a top-of-the-range bike make against the budget one on a climb? This
is a question we get asked often here at GCN. Ollie: It is, so we've decided to come to
Italy and do a fun experiment
on a ridiculously steep climb. Manon: It's not going to be fun.
Ollie: Probably isn't. Behind us is the Muro di Sormano which lies in the
beautiful Lombardy region of Italy, but don't let this stunning scenery fool you,
this is a ridiculously savage climb. It literally translates as the Wall of Sormano.
[music] Manon: Go Ollie.
Ollie: Oh my God. Manon: Go, keep pedaling.
I feel like I'm going to come to a stop. Ollie: Yes. It is 1.7 kilometers long
and averages 17% with a maximum gradient of 27. Manon: Lovely. We're going to be attempting to
ride it on these and this. I say "attempt" because it's by no means certain that we're actually going
to make it up without having to push our bikes. Ollie: Yes, I can't understate enough how
ridiculous this climb is. I've never seen a climb before where every single meter of elevation
is cruelly and agonizingly written on the road so that you can
tick it off as you just crawl your way up the slopes. That's what these markings are.
It's ridiculous. Here at GCN, we're very lucky to ride some amazing kits, some of the best kit
available to humanity. I'm first going to ride up the climb on this. My Pinarello Dogma F12.
I've also modified the gearing on it to help on this climb. I've put a big
32-cassette dinner plate on the back. Manon: I'm going to be riding my Canyon Aeroad,
but I haven't modified my gears because Ollie didn't tell me about this challenge until we got
here so a little bit of a disadvantage I'd say. Ollie: I thought you like
surprises. It's what you always tell me. Manon: Not these kinds of surprises.
Ollie: Anyway, I'm going to show you what else we're going to be riding once we've
used these. Look at this. Manon: Ta-da.
Ollie: Oh God, it's heavy. This is our really cheap bike. I managed to pick this bad boy
up from our local buying and selling site nearby here for just, get this,
€50. What do you reckon of that? Manon: Great deal.
Ollie: In case you're wondering this is a-- What is it? It is a Cortina Extreme.
Manon: Nice step-through frame for you Ollie. Ollie: Yes, of course. Good.
Manon: Get your leg go over that. Ollie: I tell you what though, this is got
much easier gears on it than your bike. Manon: It has. It has three
chainrings at the front as well. Ollie: It's got a triple chainset. It might
even be a 28 on the back. Manon: I don't know if I like [crosstalk]
Ollie: It might be easier riding this on there because the gears are really good.
It's got mudguards, useful. Kickstand. Manon: This for your baguettes.
We are not in France, are we? Ollie: Baguettes, we're in Italy.
Manon: For your pizza. Ollie: Yes.
Well, there you go. Say what, €50 it's the absolute bargain. I've
checked it. It does work. Manon: Is it safe?
Ollie: I wouldn't go down this hill on it, but it will be fine for riding up. [laughs]
Let's go. It weighs about 16 kilos as well. It's an absolute tank. [laughs]
[music] Ollie: Here we are at
the base of the Sormano Manon. What do you think? Manon: I'm a bit worried. Am I going to make it
up, let alone on this bike? I'm not sure about the other bike.
Ollie: Oh, are you up for riding up it together? Should we go?
Manon: Yes, just don't half-wheel me because you've got easy gears now. That will really
annoy me so don't half-wheel [crosstalk] Ollie: Easier gears will make a big difference on
a climb like this that's as steep as this, but I think a lot of people at home are probably looking
at the TV now and they're going, "Why are you doing this? Obviously, this bike is going to be
way better at riding up a climb than the heavier cheap bike." Yes, it will, but the reason why
we're doing it is because why not? It's fun and it's a bit silly and stupid, so are we.
Manon: You are. Ollie: Okay. Right. Should we go?
Manon: Well, I need a headstart because I'm a track rider and I don't do hills.
Ollie: Let's go Manon: Right. No,
you wait there while I go. Bye. Oh wow. I thought it'd maybe be a bit less steep at the start,
hopefully, it flattens off. I'm on my easiest gear already. Great.
[music] Ollie:
Even pro cyclists have been known to put a foot down and walk on a climb like this.
Especially on a day like today when it's a bit slippy and wet on the road. I've
given Manon a couple of minutes, and I'm going to set off now so let's go.
It's difficult here because there's so many leaves on the ground, it's slippy. I keep trying to get
out the saddle our rear wheel just slips. This is a bloody tough climb, and there's a gate.
You can see Manon now, and this bit is leveling off a bit which is giving me a bit of respite.
Even on the best bike in the world, this climb [pants] is still brutal. Hey.
Manon: Hey Ollie. Ollie: No.
Manon: Need some more gears. Ollie: Look at me spinning away.
Manon: Oh lovely, not jealous at all. Ollie: [laughs] Yes, go tech.
Oh God, it just never ends. Look at that.
[music] Ollie:
This is a wall. Manon:
I feel like I'm going to come to a stop. [music]
Ollie: Oh God. Legs are on fire. [pants] [music]
Ollie: That is ridiculous. Manon: That felt like a gym session.
Ollie: I can't imagine having to race up that. Many of you might know this and probably are
familiar but, this climb regularly features in the monument Il Lombardia, The Race of Falling Leaves.
Normally we see legends of the sport like Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali racing up here
making it look easy. It's not easy. Manon: We just did that just from the
bottom to the top, they do that in a 180k race. Ollie: Yes and the best riders in the world,
this climb takes them about 10 minutes. It took us
more like 14 minutes. [laughs] Manon: At least I'm going to have
more gears on the next bike. Ollie: Let's do it.
[music] Ollie:
I'm now going to attempt to climb on the €50 Cortina Extrema. Now,
I'm determined. I really want to try and get to the top of this climb without putting a foot down.
I want to-- doing it for budget cheap bikes the world over. Let's champion them. Let's do
it. Let's show what this bike can do. Right. Three, two, one. Let's go. Oh, there we go.
[music] Ollie:
Should have put flat shoes on. [music]
Ollie: The gearing is actually pretty good. It's pretty well suited. I've got
on a one-to-one ratio making it easier, but oh, my God, my quads are on fire already.
[music] Ollie:
I'm crawling. I'm totally crawling now. Oh, God. Manon: Go on, Ollie. Go on.
Do you want a push? Go on, Ollie. Ollie: [laughs] Oh, my God.
Manon: Go on, keep pedaling. Ollie: I'm nearly at the top.
[music] Ollie: [pants]
These handlebars are good for this. Oh, God.
My legs are on fire. Oh, God. Let's walk it off. That was so horrendous. Oh, I've to get to
take this bike down to the bottom now because it's Manon's turn [laughs] to ride the Cortina Extreme.
[music] Ollie:
I brought the bike back down to the start. It's your go now, Manon. Judgment time.
Manon: How was your run on the Cortina Extrema? Ollie: There was nothing "extrema" about. It
was horrendous. You're going to enjoy this, it's character building.
Manon: Yes? Ollie: Yes.
Manon: What's the hardest bit? Ollie: All of it.
Manon: All of it. Count me down? Ollie: Yes. Beep, beep, beep,
beep. [unintelligible 00:10:25] Go, Manon. Manon: [laughs]
I've hit a wall.
[music] Ollie:
While Manon's groveling away and enjoying herself, I'm going to nip in the car and
get on the nice road up around to the top, it should take about five minutes so hopefully,
I can be waiting for her when she gets to the top. If she gets to the top. [laughs]
Manon: 110, 111, such a long way up. This is why I stick to the track, nice and flat.
This is the definition of cheering yourself. I hope that was the steepest part because my legs.
I'm going to be doing more than 1.7k with all this zig-zagging. Oh, no, it goes on.
I'm not out myself, yet.
Absolute gym session. My legs. Oh, no. Oh, I'm never going to get started on here.
I'm going to have to do a froome. Ollie: What a view from the top here. Oh,
it's amazing. Anyway, I'm looking on my stopwatch, Manon's been-- She's getting close
to 20 minutes now, so I don't know where she is. Manon: I might ditch the bike, holding me back.
Ollie: She is doing a froome. Come on, Manon. Can you not ride it?
How's that? Manon:
Not my best ride I've ever done, but at least I made it to the top in one piece. I had to get off
and run there mid of that really steep bit. Ollie: How did you find riding it?
Manon: The gears felt quite nice to begin with, I was like, "Oh, I'm going to be okay,"
and then I hit that. I thought I'd hit the steepest bit, then it ramped up again,
and then that was me done. There's no way I was getting back on, on the steep bit.
Ollie: Unsurprisingly, not much of a surprise, we were both significantly slower on this bike.
You crept in under 20 minutes but it was 19:45, so you were pretty close.
It was a pretty obvious science experiment. Something that is so important I need to stress
is that we've not done this silly experiment to rubbish this bike and go, "All expensive bikes are
way better." Far from it. This is a celebration of a bike that just cost €50 and has made it up
an iconic climb. That's incredible and it's a bike that's not even designed to do this kind of thing.
This is a bike that is designed to do errands on. It's a functional tool,
one that you can commute on, take to town. Manon: Carry your pizza and your beers.
Ollie: I like your thinking. Manon: You can't carry
that on your fancy bike, can you? Ollie: No, and you couldn't lock your fancy bike
up in town either without it getting stolen. Manon: An old bike.
Ollie: It's a Mate. What an amazing thing. Bikes, they save the planet, you don't have to
spend much money. You can get something that's incredibly capable. That said, I wouldn't want
to descend the Sormano on those brakes. Manon: No, wouldn't make it down alive.
Ollie: Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this video, and if you have please, give it-
Manon: A big thumbs up. Ollie: -a thumbs up, if anything,
just for the pain faces that you've seen.
Manon: I'm thinking about this, you cheated because I pushed you on the steepest bit.
I think we need a rerun. Off you go. [00:14:26] [END OF AUDIO]