I could use some advice on hills too! I have a big, 35-pound comfort bike -- which I love. But my city is in foothills, and most of the places I want to go are on a downgrade from where I live -- meaning a steady climb on the return.
I have a feeling what you guys are talking about in this thread is "real hills," serious climbs. But what I'm dealing with is not even STEEP -- it's all 1% to 2% grades, but it will be two blocks of steady 2% grade, and it is embarrassingly hard for me. If I go with my kid, we ride so slow that it doesn't bother me, but on my own it get tortuous. WHEN will I develop the stamina to do two or three miles of continuous 2% grade and not mind it? I feel embarrassingly wimpy. There's a hiking trail 3 1/2 miles away that I'd love to be able to bike rather than drive to, but it's 2-4% grade uphill all the way to get there, on a busy road with other bicyclists, and I would need to not be poking along at an agonizing pace -- and be prepared to hike uphill when I arrive.