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A Cycling Weekly reporter entered East London Vélo’s Mott Street hill climb on a £200 Decathlon single-speed after a puncture forced a change of plan. The writer completed the climb but described the roughly 12kg city bike as a major disadvantage on the steep course; the source does not provide a finishing time or placing.
A Cycling Weekly reporter completed East London Vélo’s hill-climb event on a £200 Decathlon single-speed after a puncture derailed plans to borrow a road bike. The account describes a difficult ride up Mott Street in Epping Forest, but does not give a finishing time or official placing.
The race course climbed almost one kilometre and rose about 67 metres, with an average gradient of 6.7% and a maximum approaching 15%, according to the report. The rider’s navy ELOPS 500 city bike had a steel frame, aluminium rims and weighed about 12kg, the writer estimated. It had one gear and clipless pedals.
The reporter had planned to use a brother’s road bike. At the event sign-on, however, the writer punctured its rear tyre on glass during a test ride, sending sealant over their legs. The brothers managed to repair the tubeless tyre, but the report says the start order—six minutes between their starts—left no practical opportunity to exchange bikes during the event.
The writer considered leaving but decided to ride after paying the £5 entry fee. They describe grinding up the climb, being passed by another competitor around the halfway point and pushing hard near the finish. The report does not state how long the climb took, how many riders finished, or the writer’s position.
A Climb Without the Right Gearing
The account illustrates how a bike’s gearing and weight can shape a rider’s experience on a steep climb. A single-speed city bike intended for everyday trips gave the reporter no lower gear to select as the gradient steepened, while the roughly 12kg weight added to the effort compared with the lighter bikes described at the event.
For recreational riders, the story is less about competitive results than an unusual race-day problem: a last-minute equipment change forced the entrant to revise the goal from setting a time to simply reaching the top. The writer’s account is personal testimony, not a comparison test of bikes or a measured assessment of performance.
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How the Road Bike Plan Fell Apart
The reporter says their own road bike had been destroyed in July after it struck a car-park height restriction while strapped to a roof rack. For the Mott Street event, the plan was to borrow a sibling’s road bike, and the writer had previously ridden a couple of hill climbs with their brother.
That arrangement changed at sign-on when the borrowed bike’s rear tyre was cut by glass. The report says the tyre was patched, but the six-minute gap between the siblings’ starts made a bike handover impractical. The writer instead lined up on a cheap everyday bicycle, fitted with clipless pedals for the ride to the event.
““I feel like I’m towing a three-seater sofa.””
— Cycling Weekly reporter
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Race Results Are Not Given
The source account does not include the reporter’s finishing time or official placing, nor does it provide a complete results sheet or the number of finishers. The headline says the writer “just about didn’t come last,” but the article excerpt supplied here does not establish that position with a result or explain how close the rider was to last place.
The source also does not specify the race date beyond saying it took place on a Sunday. It gives the writer’s estimate of the bike’s weight, but no independent measurement or direct comparison with the winner’s bicycle.
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No Follow-Up Race Is Specified
The supplied report describes the completed ride and does not announce another race, a revised result, or a follow-up test. Any further information about the event’s official standings or the reporter’s next hill climb is not provided.
For readers seeking the result rather than the ride account, the event’s complete classification would be needed to confirm the rider’s time and placing. The source material does not link to or reproduce that information.
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Key Questions
What bike did the reporter use?
The reporter rode a Decathlon ELOPS 500, a single-speed city bike described as costing £200. The writer estimated its weight at about 12kg.
Where was the hill-climb event?
The race took place on Mott Street in Epping Forest. The report describes the climb as almost one kilometre long, rising about 67 metres, with an average gradient of 6.7% and a maximum close to 15%.
Why didn’t the reporter use a road bike?
The plan was to borrow the reporter’s brother’s road bike, but its rear tyre was cut by glass during a test ride at sign-on. Although the pair patched it, the six-minute start gap meant they could not practically exchange bikes during the event.
Did the reporter come last?
The headline says the writer “just about didn’t come last,” but the supplied report does not give an official placing or finishing time. The result cannot be independently confirmed from the material provided.
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