BikeScout Encyclopedia | Pro-Climb Categorization & Effort Multipliers
Description: Understanding Pro-Climb Categorization: How BikeScout calculates ascent difficulty using bike-specific effort multipliers and the Adjusted Score formula.
Keywords: Pro-Climb, Climb Categories, HC Climb, MTB Effort Multiplier, Cycling Gradient, Tactical Briefing, hifly81, BikeScout

# Pro-Climb
Categorization

Core Concept: Vertical Intensity Analysis

In professional cycling, not all meters climbed are equal. A 500m ascent on a paved road is a different physiological mission compared to 500m on a technical volcanic trail. Pro-Climb Categorization is the engine BikeScout uses to classify ascents into categories (from Cat 4 to the legendary Hors Catégorie), adjusted for bike-specific rolling resistance and terrain intensity.

## The Effort Multiplier

The core innovation of the Pro-Climb engine is the `effort_multiplier`. BikeScout recognizes that gravity and rolling resistance impact riders differently based on their equipment:

- Road/Gravel (1.0x): The baseline for sustained, efficient climbing on predictable surfaces.
- MTB/XC (1.4x): Accounts for the increased energy cost of off-road traction and bike geometry.
- Enduro/Tech (1.6x): The maximum multiplier, reflecting the massive physical demand of punchy, technical climbs on heavy, long-travel machinery.

## The Scoring Formula

To assign a category, BikeScout calculates an Adjusted Effort Score. This formula combines the total vertical gain with the steepness of the climb, then applies the multiplier.

Scoring_Gradient = min(Avg_Gradient, 18.0)
Adjusted_Score = Total_Ascent * (Scoring_Gradient / 10) * Effort_Multiplier

## Category Thresholds

Based on the final score, the climb is assigned a rank following the professional standards of grand tours:

- Hors Catégorie (HC): Legendary challenges (Score > 800 or Ascent > 1000m).
- Category 1: Brutal ascents requiring elite-level pacing.
- Category 2: Hard climbs that test endurance.
- Category 3: Challenging hills.
- Category 4: Short, intense burners.

## Geodesic Precision

Unlike standard apps that use flat-map distances, Pro-Climb relies on Geodesic Accuracy. By using the Haversine formula to measure the true horizontal baseline, BikeScout's gradient calculations (and thus the categorization) remain accurate even on the steepest "walls" where satellite data often fails.

"Elevation is just a number. Effort is the real telemetry. Pro-Climb gives you the truth about the road ahead."

#Climbing-Physics #Effort-Multiplier #King-Of-Mountains