Originally Posted by Davet

Now I see the pic of your Giant. Nice bike! There will be only a small difference between a 12/25 and a 12/27, not worth the extra money in my opinion.

Maybe with some training and skill gains, you can tackle the hills. The key to getting up steep hills is tempo, not attacking them, at least at first. Sit and spin up the hills. One way to get better is to do more hills, again and again. It does take time to build the strength and endurance necessary to climb.

I only started riding in 2000. I'm 62 now and I haven't met a hill I didn't like. My climbing training consists of hill repeats; climb a hill and come down, then do it again and again and again. Each ride I try to climb a little faster than the last ride. I have several different road bikes, both are triple. One is equipped with a 12/27 rear cassette, the other is equipped with a MTB rear dérailleur and MTB 12/34 cassette. The last is my 'mountain' bike, the one that I take if there is going to be a lot of steep hills or if I'm riding in the mountains.

The bike is only as good as it's 'engine' which is you. Find a good training schedule, feed yourself properly, and try to do what you can't do. Climb hills, climb more hills and then find a hill that you can't climb and keep trying. It's not easy and doesn't come without effort. You will be surprised how strong you get, quickly. All it takes is practice.