Actually, I got a notice that someone quoted a very old post of mine.

Does making fun of an old crank count as getting cranky?

Actually old people are not cranky. We just tell the truth as we see it, and no longer care if someone is offended.

Concentrate and put more effort on the upstroke (pulling) rather than the downstroke (pushing). Keep your RPMs up but not too high as to lose forward momentum.

As I tell people, downshifting makes you go slower. I suppose it's OK if you're already going slower. But yes, downshift as needed to maintain your cadence at what speed you can, until you either hit an equilibrium speed or you get to the top.

Are you riding a conventional or an electric trike? I've seen a number of people around here coasting up long hills on electric recumbents.

I still don't have this down in the muscle memory, only been riding with cleats for less than a year. When it does come to mind, harder with the brain injury, I give it my all pushing and pulling, & it grows unbelievably easier!

You say that, but on Endless Sphere you can SEE what happens to 500W - 1000W motors if you don't help them A LOT when going up long hills. Spoiler: it isn't pretty. You are just repeating trope wisdom about how little work the riders of e-anythings do.

I didn't write "steep hills" - I wrote "long hills," meaning a couple of hundred yards. I haven't yet seen any in use out where I mostly ride, in very hilly Baltimore County.

I wonder if pedal assist is likely to be increasingly outsold by throttle ebikes.

I think that it all comes down to intended use. If you just want "ease of use" (ie - minimal effort) get an ebike with a throttle. If you are looking for exercise out of your ebike, with a bit of "oomph" when needed, get pedal assist.

Different strokes for different folks. They both have their plusses and minuses.

Given that the obesity epidemic must have physicians telling millions of older patients that, no kidding, you've got to do some regular exercise if you want to outlast green bananas, my bet is that those patients will embrace not the spirit but the letter of the advice - and will head straight for the throttle bikes. We'll probably see very few pedal assist bikes being sold a couple of years from now.

How does your post add to the thread.

Sweet irony. You're responding to a post ...

... that's more than a year old ...
... that you already responded to ...
... that was about you responding to another post more than once.

I have a customer in Southern California with a new to him R-84. He has a triple 50/36/24 and 11/34 in the rear. He wants to get a more modern crank(maybe CF) and BB since the current square taper is worn out . I see a good mix of double and triples out there, so my question is does one really need more than 1 to 1 for a low gear. On his bike with a 50/34 he could have a 28 inch lowest gear. Should that be low enough for your average cyclist that isn't headed to the mountains?

You haven't told us anything about your customer. How old is s/he? Fit? Not? Even flat geography can have local features (overpasses, wind) that make the case for a wider gear spread.

There have been a few times that even a 30/32 on a 26" wheel wasn't low enough for me. OTOH, it starts getting hard to balance going so slow that a 23-inch gear is needed. OTOH, a 24/34 gear is insanely low to me. Maybe your customer should get the 50/34 system, and then have a separate wheel with a 46/11 cassette for the one or two times a year he might use it.

It's been a year for activity in this thread, but I love a recumbent. I've never ridden one. I've intended to build one. I've been collecting parts for years and only just got matching wheels. A recumbent with 18", 20", and 26" wheels just wasn't going to cut it.

I have two recumbents I want to build. I've a few projects superseding both, but I'll sure to be here when my trikes are underway.

Anyone dabbling in home builds?

I hear complaints (from the ebike owners) that several states are rewriting the classifications of ebikes instead of just using the manufacturer classes. What may fall out of all of it is, throttle ebikes may be classed as mopeds and might end up required to be registered (depending on state.)