Originally Posted by puppypilgrim

Many people make the mistake of thinking they can "buy performance" going up hills.

The best way to go faster on hills is to lose excess bodyweight. Using Tour de France (elite cyclists) as a rule of thumb, take your height in inches and multiply by 2.

5' 9.75" = 69.75"

69.75 x 2 = 139.5 lbs. This is the competition weight of a typical Tour de France rider.

At your lighter weight of 175 lbs., that means you need to lose 35.5 lbs. The increased performance from such a weight loss yields a climbing advantage many orders of magnitude above changing the weight of your wheels.

If the hills are but short inclines, you can attack them with speed and sprint. But if you want to ride mountains, you need to lose weight.