Originally Posted by
lennyparis
The middle to south shore of Long Island is flat
The north shore is very hilly
No mountains but many hills that are 200-300 feet for less than one mile
I can go up hills pretty easily
I just feel many times that I am pushing too hard a gear
Not going 90rpm but 10-15 less and grinding it out
OK, it sounds like you have hills which are fairly steep but short. Trying to ride up those hills at reasonable cadence (even 10-15 less than your normal 90) puts you above your functional power, but it's not a game killer because these hills are never long enough. Can you think of any steep section that takes you more than 5 minutes? Can you keep going for 20 minutes at the same effort?
If that's the situation, compact will make hills less of a challenge on long rides and it will make you more capable to do long rides in more mountainous areas.