Originally Posted by
Nightshade
This can remedied by swapping out your front chain ring to a 34 tooth ring. Makes a world of difference for riding ease !!
Edit: Current size chainring is a 44t so yeah it would make it easier to pedal in 3rd gear but id also lose a lot of speed. I was thinking about swapping the tires for thinner, slicker ones instead with idea being to decrease rolling resistance.
Edit 2: I got home and checked my tires, they were at 20 psi. No wonder it was so hard to pedal. Gave it a test run and much improved.