I don't go out of my way to ride climbs. I live in Seattle, so I do ride hills but I am not looking for them. I was diagnosed with hypertension about 2 years ago. Not wanting all the side effects that the drugs can have, I changed my diet. The goal wasn't to lose weight, but many of the foods with high sodium where also high in fat. I have been consistently dropping weight since I started. My blood pressure is now 115/80 and I have been rolling over hills a lot faster. I rode with group of guys who say they have 40,000 feet of elevation gain for the year. We are all above 200 lbs. I am probably the heaviest. Smoked them over the small to medium climbs and finished with the group on all the others. There is a reason that many pro cyclists watch their diet the way they do. You will see much more success on climbs by losing weight then by buying a bunch of lightweight equipment