Originally Posted by ultra-g
My Langster single speed (48/16) is much easier to pedal than my mountain bike on its 42/18 gearing, the longer you ride, the stronger your legs, lungs and heart will get, right?
I always like to climb hills off the saddle, you work harder and use more of your body, but when I'm really tired I'll climb sitting and lean forward so my legs do most of the work, then try to relax the rest of my body as much as I can.
One technique that I discovered on a fixie which helped me a lot is that you pull up on the pedal while pushing down with the other leg (you better have spd's). It sort of doubles your power. Also, while spinning you can just keep pulling up and let the pushing muscles rest for a while. I have 42/16 and I am considering going to 15 or 14 for the small hills of boston area. It takes about a month or so to build up the legs and get used to a gear ratio. After that you can increase the ratio, and build the legs more. In theory this process is like weight lifting. Come to think of it, riding a fixie uphill is an anaerobic activity (like weight training). On the other hand, riding a geared bike is an aerobic activity.