Originally Posted by
PeteHski
People often automatically assume lower gears means less power and lower speed, but once we are reduced to grinding at sub 50 cadence in a higher gear then most people produce more power in a much lower gear at 80+ rpm cadence.
The way I view this is through my experience with the injury. I can only put so much power down, at any cadence/speed. But at higher RPM's (well, higher for me) I find that I can generally sustain the cadence. But the moment my RPM's tank, say down to the ~50-60 range, up that same hill I'm going to end up unable to push hard enough with the injured leg. So, for me it's a balancing act. I love that I've got a fairly low gearing. But as many have pointed out in other discussions it can become difficult to remain upright if ending up too slow. Ah, well. The realities of aging decrepitude.
Back in the mid-80s it didn't impact me nearly so much. Test-rode a Ritchey Ultra, at the time, and for the test-ride I went straight up a steep hard-packed slope while sitting down on the saddle ... and I just selected the lowest gear, kept the cadence up, and powered right up that slope. Was about ~30 degrees or more, as I recall. Easy enough, with that bike. Can't remember what the gear-inches were (at the bottom end). These days, though, even a moderate rise up an overpass road aches, on a "regularly-geared" bike, while that same incline as simple on my own low-geared bike.