Know the climbs before you ride

The route says 1,200 m of climbing. That could be one long, steady climb you can settle into, or a dozen short walls at 12% that break your legs one by one. The total doesn’t tell you which. The shape of each climb does, and where it comes in the day.

Ridekit finds every climb on the route and shows you how hard each one is, before you ride and while you’re on it.

See the climbs

1. Open the route and tap the elevation profile on the route page. The full-screen map opens, with the elevation card at the bottom.
2. Tap N climbs at the top of the card (for example 7 climbs). The list shows every climb in order.
3. Tap a climb to zoom to it, on the elevation card and on the map. ‹ Climbs takes you back to the list.

Each climb in the list shows:

• its length and average gradient, for example “4.2 km at 6.8%”
• the height gained, the steepest 100 m (max), and where it starts and ends along the route
• its category, from the easiest: Cat 4, 3, 2, 1 and HC
• Easy, Medium or Hard, and the climb’s shape

Easy is uncategorised and Cat 4, Medium is Cat 3 and 2, Hard is Cat 1 and HC. The list’s title adds up how much all of them climb. At the top, Show filters the list: All, Medium+ or Hard.

How Ridekit finds a climb

Ridekit counts a climb the way bike computers do: 500 m or longer, and 3% or steeper on average. A climb runs from its lowest point to its top. The category comes from length times gradient, the usual climb score, so a long steady climb and a short steep one can land in the same category.

A long rise with a gentle run-in, or a flat bit in the middle, isn’t dropped for averaging under 3%: its steep part is listed on its own, as bike computers list it. That way the list can match the climbs a Garmin Edge shows as you ride. Climbs are free on every plan.

Read the elevation

The elevation line is coloured by gradient: light green from 1%, yellow from 3%, orange from 6%, red from 9% and dark red from 12%. The colours show where the hard part of a climb is, at a glance.

• Hold and slide your finger along the card: the distance and height at that point, the gradient there and, on a climb, how far to the top. A dot shows the spot on the map.
• Double-tap and drag across a section: its climbing, descent, average gradient and steepest stretch (marked on the graph). Let go to zoom in on it, and zoom again inside it as often as you like. Back steps out one level; pinching zooms too.
• A selected section is coloured by gradient on the map as well, so you can see which hairpin is the steep one.

The (i) next to the card’s title explains it all, with the colour key.

Road surface in the profile

The fill under the elevation line shows the road surface: solid for paved, stripes for gravel, dots for dirt, grass or sand, cross-hatch for cobbles, pale where it isn’t known. A selection says how much of it is unpaved, and scrubbing names the surface under your finger. The route page sums it up, like “82% paved · 15% gravel”.

That’s useful on a climb: 6% on tarmac and 6% on loose gravel are different days. The surface comes from OpenStreetMap, where roads without a surface tag count as paved and tracks as gravel, so check it against roads you know.

On the ride

Tap Start riding and the elevation card follows you. Under its title you see the climbing still to do, and the next climb, or how far it is to the top when you’re on one. The part you’ve ridden is darker.

On a Garmin Edge, the course you send is a normal Garmin course, so its own climb feature works as usual with your Edge’s settings.

The route in 3D

With Pro or Plus, tap 3D on the full-screen map to see the route over the hills in relief. Play flies along it; the lower slider sets the speed, and touching the position slider pauses the flight. Zoomed to a climb or a section on the elevation card? 3D plays just that bit. The 3D view needs internet.

With Pro or Plus you also get the Topo map, with contour lines (Europe and North America) and peak heights, and Terrain, with the hills in relief. Both can be downloaded for offline use.

Good to know

• Splitting a long ride? Effort in Split into stages counts climbing too (1000 m up is about 10 km of flat), so hilly days come out shorter. See a multi-day tour, stage by stage.
• Got a new version of an event route? Compare routes under Tools lists what changed, with each change’s elevation.
• Want to mark a steep descent or a nasty bend on your bike computer? Add it in Your points: Danger is free, and Steep climb and Sharp bend come with Pro or Plus. It goes with the course as a course point. See riding into the night.

More on the support page.