When I were a lad, about 65 years ago, it was considered a bit wimpy to get out of the big 52T ring while riding in hilly SW England. We rode 52/42 with a 6 speed rear cluster (no cassettes then). In winter we converted to fixed, usually 69 gear inches or 82 for 25 mile out and back hilly TTs. I never broke the one hour; best was 65 minutes (with asthma for company😊
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Nowadays I’m not ashamed to use a bit of e-assist, usually 50W, to get me and my failing lungs up from 12 mph to 15.