Calculate your climbing speed, time and VAM (vertical ascent per hour) from your power output, weight and the climb's gradient.
Elevation gain: 1106 ft
VAM (vertical ascent per hour) is a standard climbing-performance metric independent of unit system. Assumes a typical road setup at sea level with no wind — for full control over aerodynamics and elevation, use the Cycling Watts Calculator.
Completed a climb already? Calculate your actual VAM.
On a sustained climb, gravity — proportional to your total system weight and the gradient — dominates the power equation far more than aerodynamic drag does, since climbing speeds are lower. That's why weight matters so much more on a climb than on flat ground, and why watts per kilogram, not raw watts, is the number that best predicts who reaches the top first.
This calculator uses rider weight and bike weight separately, because gravity acts on both together. A lighter bike shaves a small, fixed amount off total system weight regardless of gradient — its effect on climbing time is proportionally larger on steeper climbs. See the W/kg Calculator to see how rider weight alone affects your power-to-weight ratio.
VAM measures vertical meters gained per hour, independent of how long or steep the specific climb is. It's most meaningful for climbs longer than about 5 minutes and gradients between roughly 5-15% — outside that range (very short, very steep, or very shallow climbs), VAM becomes a less reliable point of comparison.
Take a 165 lb rider on an 18 lb bike, sustaining 250 W up a 3-mile climb averaging 8%:
Enter the same power, gradient and distance into the calculator above to see this result, or change the numbers for your own climb.
