Our town has the edge of glaciation just to the north and a major river to the west and south with a bit over 200 feet of elevation difference. So there are flat places and also lots of hills where the routes tumble down towards the streams that connect to the river.
Still it’s hard to find a hill with much over 150 feet of elevation. So our steep climbs tend to be short. If you can do 300 watts for three minutes (and recover) you really have not much to worry about, even on a single speed, which is what I’ve ridden most of the last two years.
These days I have rear gear clusters on both bikes, but I still often do single gear 42/16 only rides just to make sure I have the strength to manage all the hills. But using the 42/18 on hills is both easier and usually faster. I’ve lost the patience to use a gear lower than that, it seems.
Otto
Last edited by ofajen; 08-10-22 at 11:52 AM.