Originally Posted by
bikingjerome
Did you read my earlier post when I said that it is not a uniform hill? The slope keeps changing gradually so I can't always forsee the gear I am under. I believe that's what so many gears are there for to begin with. So that you are in one gear and if it's starting to get heavy you get into a lighter gear and vice versa.
Amen. I keep getting the same knee-jerk response from my LBS when I complain about downshifting problems. the fact is, at the bottom of the hill you are less tired, and the slope isn't as great, so you want to stay in a higher gear and then downshift as the slope increases and you become more tired.