Originally Posted by cyccommute

Nope. Sorry but just nope. The amount of energy I expend by pedaling up to speed on a downhill pales in comparison to the amount of energy expended on the next uphill. I'm not talking about "maximum effort" either. I've already expended maximum effort climbing the hill. Gravity is giving me a boost and I'm just taking advantage of it.

Coasting down hills after a strenuous climb hurts way more when you reach the next climb because lactic acid build up and shortens the muscle fibers in your legs. When you need those muscles...and you will..., the fibers are contracted and don't want to move again. It hurts a whole lot and it's worse if you've spent a long time coasting. Being able to have a bit of resistance while pedaling won't wear you done as much and keeps the muscles from tightening up.

I'm also not talking about short hills here. I'm talking about miles long descents of which there is an abundance in my area and of which I've encountered hundreds while touring. It's even worse for off-road touring because I coast a lot more actively than I do on pavement. By that I mean that on-road, I coast relatively relaxed. My feet are parallel to the ground but I usually have more weight on the saddle (not a lot but more). Off-road, my feet are parallel to the ground but there's a lot more tension in my legs because I'm using them to "spring" my ride. As the bike hits potholes and rocks, my legs are tense and flexing at the same time. My legs get fatigued easily and having a higher gear with a bit of resistance while pedaling allows me to work some of that fatigue out. Spinning at high rpms just doesn't do the same thing.