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02-18-09, 08:37 AM
I'm new to utility cycling, just bought a used kid trailer w/ the intent of hauling 100 pounds of chicken feed home from the feed store. My route is mostly flat terrain except for the mile long climb to my house which is probably a 500' climb with a couple of plateaus in the middle of the mile so you can take a short break but most of it is up hill. My question is, how low do my gears need to be to manage that load? Normally, I ride up that hill (without cargo) in a very low gear (22x32 or so) but spinning at a high cadence. My bike is an old rockhopper w/ a microdrive in front (thank goodness) but it's limited to a low of 28 in the back (it's got a Suntour hub and cassette which only fit each other) so will I be able to deal w/ that hill using a 20x28 gear or should I plan on making two trips to the feed store so that I only have a 50 pound weight to manage? the trailer itself weights 24 pounds. thanks