Originally Posted by
pdlamb
Somewhere below 20 gear inches it's better to walk -- easier than trying to stay balanced, and uses different muscles.
Less that 1:1? Oh heck yeah. What you don't have in your legs you need to have in your gears.
No it isn't. Many of us use a combination that results in sub 20 gear inches very successfully. I am much happier climbing a hill at 3.5 mph than I am trying to push a loaded bike uphill. My lowest gives me 17.6 gear inches, and I have used it a lot, and wouldn't even want to go back to the 26 I swapped for the 24.
Trust me, it is easier to stay balanced on the bike while riding it, than it is to balance the fully loaded bike pushing it uphill.