Its a lot easier for me to slug out some gears but that's because of how I road in my teen years. Spinning is a mystery to me and no doubt works your agility. It took me a week or so to really gear down low to travel up hill faster. And I felt like a goof when people would look at me huffing and puffing up hill with my legs spinning at what looks like to be uncomfortably fast. Thats OK though I was the only commuter that would challenge the hill in question. I'll try to continue to add more emphasis on spinning this next coming spring.