Originally Posted by
late
1) compromise... get a bailout gear of 34T.
2) if you want to get better at climbing, and you can't climb every couple of days, perhaps
you should consider a training program.
I'm already considering getting both a 12-27 and 11-36, but I'm going to compare the steps in my current 11-32 and both the 11-34 and 11-36. 11-34 is probably the way to go and should enable me to nudge my HR up a bit. I can climb twice a week or so. I've got a 25 mile R/T up a dead end ranch road; I think the toal climbing is 2600' so it's a good workout to say the least. Just need 3 days or so for recovery.
I definitely need to get stronger for climbing double-digit grades on the tandem;