Originally Posted by FormerFF

Now I have to call bull****. I've lived in Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, and outside of West Dundee, IL. There are no hills in that area that are comparable to what's in this area. I have a 50-34 crank and an 11-32 cassette, and I use the full range every ride. When I lived up your way I had the same steel bike I mentioned in the original post, and used about three gears: One for no wind, one for upwind, and one for downwind, just about the same three gears I used when I lived in St. Petersburg, FL.