Originally Posted by
kbarch
The reason fatigue comes sooner for most people on climbs, despite power to the wheel being consistently a result of cadence x torque is because energy expended by itself does not equal torque. If a person expends more energy rocking back and forth, pushing the pedals at an ineffective angle, etc., while climbing, then less toque will be produced from the same amount of energy expended.
That's a hypothesis; so show me some data. How much energy is wasted through rocking? And given modern rigid soled shoes and fixed cleats, how does one push on the pedals at any angle other than the angle of the sole to the pedal?