Question about gears and hills

[alpinerabbit]

Looks like it's true:

* Total distance (miles) 202.25
* Uphill distance (miles) 30.87
* Uphill altitude (feet) 1,951
* Maximum altitude (feet) 463
http://www.cascade.org/EandR/stp/STP_Details.cfm

You better start training :-) - upping your distance.

What do you ride in? Centuries don't go well with sneakers, and maybe, just maybe you could try going clippless. Think double the muscle at your disposal.
Also, I like the adjustable-angle stem but I don't quite like the slightly downward-tilting saddle (although you might be fine with that....)

[Eden]

Yeah - STP is pretty flat as far as centuries go. One or two longer climbs (the "big hill" is 1 mile long and about 7% - a little over 300 feet of elevation gain). There's very, very little in the way of steep climbing.

As far as the bike goes - sounds like the mechanic was a bit full of it... in any case unless he knows you and your riding style intimately he hasn't anything to judge you on as far as the gearing you personally will need for hill climbing... Sounds like he looked, saw a woman, and decided you needed even lower gearing than you already have... I'm guessing a bit, but your bike probably has Tiagra on it, and could possibly have a 12-23 tooth rear. That's not super low, but with a triple on the front, you still have several easier gears than you'd have on a standard double running a 12-27. If you find you do need or want some easier gears it's possible to go down to a 26 with a SRAM road cassette, lower with a mt cassette - but that could require a different derailleur.