Counted the MTBike cogs and there were 32... It was easy. Duh.... I find the mathematical part of this really interesting...

My knees don't hurt, at least not as long as the steepest part of the hill isn't too long. I *can* get up the hills without getting off the bike but it's harder than it used to be. I guess I was expecting that hills would be easier on the road bike, not harder. I have no problem working my butt off by riding more and doing hill repeats to get stronger. I can ride on the flats here but I'm fairly limited on where I can go then. If I'm willing to do hills, I can go anywhere. Some of it is rolling, some is steeper.

Anyway, thanks for your detailed response. It really helps me to make sense of it all. Now that I have a better understanding of the differences between my MTBike and my road bike, I guess I was just wondering if I had an easy enough granny gear for my current fitness level and terrain. My SO thinks I just need to keep working at the hills and learn to use the gears I have. Sounds like he's right.

barb