Originally Posted by
ExtremeHo
I don't understand why leg strength is not relevent... I have a 17km avg 5.4% hill here, and often times i feel im not, cannot push down hard enough to get moving faster then 20km/h.
If my leg strength is stronger, that will mean i can push down the pedal harder, hence generate more watts, hence if i were to back down my wattage to be comparable to a lesser leg strength guy - it will be easier for me yes?
The limiter on a long hill like that is not leg strength. The force required to climb a long hill is fairly low, 300W @ 80RPM takes a peak force on the pedals of under 100lbs which is less force than you would use climbing a set of stairs.
If you want to climb hills faster a structured training plan with intervals will help much more than strength training.