Originally Posted by
Lamplight
You did mention my seat height, and I lowered it as a result, but I still find myself pointing my toes downward. And if I lower it any more I'm afraid it will start hurting my knees. As it is right now, I can pedal with my heels and my knees are still slightly bent.
I generally spin more than mash because my knees aren't so great, but I'll try to pay more attention to my cadence. And there are some especially steep hills here where I'm in my easiest gear and simply have to either mash the pedals or just get off and walk. That's with a 26t chainring and 32t rear cog!
And that's the thing with clipless: you don't mash. You simply rotate your feet smoothly, though slowly, and up you go. I'm not particularly strong, but I can climb 10% seated in a 42 X 17 gear. That translates to a cadence of about 35 for me.
Prepping for a century with some steep climbs, Stoker and I were out yesterday on our tandem, climbing 1900'/hr at 50 cadence. The trick is to pedal smoothly, no upper body motion, arms relaxed.
Never walk! I'm against it philosophically.