I'm 70 years old, but I still pedal standing a lot on my regular 52 mile route with 3400 feet of climbing and my 54 mile route with 5000 feet of climbing. I have a 10-13% grade that takes about 10 minutes to complete. I can do it standing in a 30/24 or seated in a 30/36. My cadence will only be 55-65 rpm, instead of 70-80. Finding the perfect gear ratio can be tough on the steepest grades. If I try to use a 30/28 for a higher cadence, it's too easy, with insufficient pedal resistance. For some reason, finding the right gear combination for 4-8% grades is far less difficult. I use my 46/28 for 6-8% grades.