To give a concrete example of what might work for the average person, I try to climb at about 78 rpm, somewhere in there, depending on if the exact gear matches the exact slope, so a few beats on either side of that are acceptable for me. Say 75-85. In my mid-50s, my lowest gear was 32 g.i. In my mid 70s, my lowest gear is 23 g.i. Yeah, we get slower as we age.
That gearing has enabled me to do 3000' climbs at a steady pace and to do 250 mile day rides with 15,000'. It's not a slow pace, just slower than really strong folks, about in the top 10% of my age group. Too many people gear too high and think a big cassette means you're weak.
It's too bad that triples have gone out of fashion. It seems that the more money one spends on a bike, the higher are the standard gears that it comes with. Seems like it ought to be the other way 'round, since the older we get, the more disposable income most of us have.
