I do tons of climbing on an SS, 48x18, 71.4 gi. But, I don't use a drop bar, I use something akin to a moustache bar. I can stand for miles at a time with my hands in the "drops", such as they are, something I found not possible with my hands on the hoods of a drop bar. My longest/hardest ride was 100 miles with 9000' feet of climbing.