JPPE
Well, I am just a tad skeptical of you finding a 5 mile climb with any kind of sustained grades of 20%. I have seen 20% grades and they are pretty fiendish. I have only ridden roads that hit that kind of grade for a short time. Actually it is not so much going up that bothers me, it is going down! I mean, 7% downhills are bad enough but 20%!?!
Seriously, bikes have a quality/cost and weight/cost curve. I mean as you go from the cheapest walmart bikes to decent bike shop bikes you get a big improvement for a very reasonable cost. Also going from entry level bikes to say an entry level racer with Shimano 105, you get an improvment. But after Shimano 105, you are paying quite a bit for just minor weight reductions.
Will losing 2 lbs on your bike make a big difference. Let me suggest your inexpensive bike weighs 20 lbs with gear (pump, bottles, tubes, etc) and your top of the line bike weighs 16 lbs. So you get a 4 lb saving. You and your clothes way about 180 lbs. So the cheap way is 200 lbs and the expensive way is 196 lbs. You save 2%. So on a climb you will go 2% faster. Now in a race for a professional on a mountain stage getting a 2% edge is well worth $5,000. But does it make sense for a recreational rider? I mean can you really detect that you are going 5.1 mph instead of 5.0 mph? And if you can does it really make a meaningful difference?
Well, some people just got to have the latest and greatest. That is what advertising does to us. If you have to have it, you know that answer better than we do.
I mean when you are done with everything, bicycling is far cheaper than many other hobbies and it is good for you to boot. So if you want the top end stuff and it makes you feel good, get it. If not, don't.
Pat