How did "vintage" cyclists climb hills?
So it seems like one of the first thing the new owner of a vintage bike does--- at least if he/she intends to actually ride said bike, let alone ride it uphill--- is to start fiddling with things in order to get a reasonable climbing gear.
But "back in the day" these bikes were ridden too, no? How the heck did people get up the hills? I'm looking at a 50's era racing bike that was fitted with a single front chainring with 46 teeth, and 4 rear cogs with something like 14-17-19-22. Compare this to the supposedly macho racers of the 70's with a 53/39 and a 12/23! Let alone today's bikes which roll of the sales floors with a 50/34 crank and an 11-34 cassette....
Did people just like suffering more? Were people just strong enough to crank 40 rpm up 12 percent grades? Or did everyone just ride the flats and go around the hills?
I'm actually puzzled by this. How did cycling survive as a sport with such brutal gearing? Figured you folks might know...