fietsbob

Being able to climb a hill in a higher gear will get you to the top first and win the day.

buelito

boy that brought back a memory... July 4 weekend 1976. We left Boulder, went up Lefthand Canyon to Ward, across the Peak to Peak and down Boulder Canyon-- and my buddy was passing cars on the downhill... that was on 'real' ten speeds

train safe-

axolotl

In recent years, I rode up the Col du Tourmalet and Mont Ventoux on a NWT with panniers. The Tourmalet was harder, but I took the easiest approach for Mont Ventoux (from Sault). Neither one comes anywhere close to having a 20% grade. I would definitely be walking on that sort of a grade. I suspect that even pushing a bike up a grade like that would be difficult.

Rowan

Lance Armstrong proved this incorrect on several occasions.

To toolguy, here's a solution to your conundrum.

Get a bike that weighs 19lbs and has the two gears you require. Find a 20% road and ride up it in the 29.6gi. Then load up a backpack with bottles of water equivalent to 11lbs, and ride up the road again in the 18.4gi.

Report back to us with your findings. You might learn something instead of asking unanswerable questions.

From my point of view, everyone is different, everyone has different power outputs and everyone has different torque potential in their legs. The weight comes into, but only marginally, and that all depends on the weight of the rider and how much of a percentage of bodyweight + bikeweight that 11lbs is. Then there is pedalling style preferences -- standing of sitting, spinninng or mashing.

Like I say, go and answer your own question.

toolguy

I think my NWT is about 25lbs and a 20" low gear.

toolguy

I like that idea.

toolguy

I don't have a very light bike anymore though. When my wife and I got first touring bikes, the softer ride and stability were so nice, we eventually sold our road bikes. It is fun to go fast sometimes. If I had to choose only one bike, it would be a touring bike with at least a low 20gi. I do miss my Merlin sometimes. I wonder if it ever misses me.

toolguy

Please let me know how it goes.