Is it easier to cycle or walk up hill?

[Grinder]

Legs don't have gears yet.

Surely they do - smaller, more numerous steps.

[Drewster]

We have two hillocks nearby, each about 80-90 metres high. Both are somewhat ambitiously called '...berg', the Dutch word for 'mountain'. In the summer there's a permanent First Aid post and an AED at the top of both of them to care for the middle aged heart attack victims who've overestimated their own fitness.

I believe the "Holland Mountain Rescue Team" are affiliated with my local group the "Fenland Mountain Rescue Team".....

I think thier conventions are held at Ramsey Heights!

(Of the hamlets in Ramsey parish, Ramsey Heights is so called because it is the highest of them. It is at sea level.)

[Churchill]

What do you mean by easier?

Bikes have gears, so it can be relatively easy on a low gear but still requires the same abount of effort to get up the hilll.

Legs don't have gears yet.

Surely it's easier to walk, if you cycle then you're expending the energy to carry the bike up hill too!

[PRC1964]

Too many things to consider. If you have just bombed down a steep hill at top speed you'll expend next to no energy free-wheeling part way up the next hill.

[TimberWolf]

We have two hillocks nearby, each about 80-90 metres high. Both are somewhat ambitiously called '...berg', the Dutch word for 'mountain'. In the summer there's a permanent First Aid post and an AED at the top of both of them to care for the middle aged heart attack victims who've overestimated their own fitness.

It's a lot of work climbing hills. Energy = mgh, which for a 100Kg cyclist (inc. bike) would be = 100Kg *10 m/s^2 * 80 m = 8*10^4 Joules, minimum. Muscles are only about 25% efficient. So if it were climbed in 2 minutes, would require almost 700 Watts. Compared to about 70 watts on the level at 14 mph.

[Grinder]

<snip>
Energy = mgh, which for a 100Kg cyclist (inc. bike) would be
</snip>

Where do I get a bike that weighs -20 kg?

[TimberWolf]

Where do I get a bike that weighs -20 kg?

Hills are even worse for heavy people.

[Grinder]

Hills are even worse for heavy people.

Is that despite the benefit of standing up on the pedals - the heavier the rider, the more downward force which translates into forward motion.

[TimberWolf]

Is that despite the benefit of standing up on the pedals - the heavier the rider, the more downward force which translates into forward motion.

Yep, doubling the weight doubles the energy need to climb a hill.

[PerlOfWisdom]

If you're comparing riding a bike with pushing it up the hill, then cycling uses less energy. With each step the centre of gravity moves up and down which uses extra energy.

Also, presumably you have to go back down at some point which will use no energy at all on a bike.