Originally Posted by
livedarklions
I don't think we're disagreeing at all, I just made the same point about gearing where there are definitely "this is 10% more" type comparisons. The point is we can know how the different slopes can compare to each other, but until we try them, we don't know how much or even whether those differences matter to us. If someone can't do 1 mile at 5% grade, the percentage difference of difficulty to 1 mile at 6% may be objectively calculable, but it really doesn't matter to that rider.
TL/DR--those 2-5% differences may be objectively measurable, but how they affect you is not.
I'm not disagreeing with what you or any other is saying either. I just don't see how all the comparisons to riding long mountain climbs or determining FIETS will help the OP make a determination. Even with those numbers the OP still won't know what they are able to do with out prior experience.