Originally Posted by andre nickatina
How do you guys manage those crazy hills on the uphill journey with anything 48x16 or over? Legs of steel and super hard mashing or what? Or do you walk your bike up (shame on you). I roll 49x19 in Portland and it seems to be a good uphill and downhill gear though I'd like something higher for downhill (but it's great uphill), but it's all a matter of knowing your technique / limits when you reach higher RPM's, and small skip stops on the really long hills help too. There is a few really big hills here that I think could rival SF, too.
ok, SF DOES have hill but the hills usually have higher rents. i cant think of too many sf people who actually live on a hill. maybe its just my route, but i rarely have to go over any major hills. the only hill that has anything to do with anywhere i would want to be is haight/hayes. after that it's nob hill, van ness, and all the other spendy spots. sf isnt a city of rolling hill after rolling hill. there are some ratios that work, the key is to have something thats in the middle, good for sprinting, flats, hills and stopping. if you are young and not really raking in the dough, chances are you will live on something relatively flat.