Double, Compact, or Triple?

[Veronica]

...on hills like that you should be able to hit 45 easily without even pedaling.

Unfortunately this was one of those climbs where you descend some, then climb some more, then descend again.

That first descent, nasty hairpins and chewed up road. Oh and it's in the redwoods so the road is in shadow and it sees a lot of car traffic and it's about a lane and a half wide.

Yeah, the second half of the descent I hit 40 w/o pedaling. In fact I refused to pedal until I hit the stop signs at the bottom. This section has much nicer pavement, more sweeping turns and two full lanes.

Veronica

[JennK13]

Pumpkin,
My Fuji has a double (36/46) up front and a 12-25 10spd on the back. At times, I'm also wishing I had a granny on it! Did a nice 36 mile ride yesterday with rolling hills, some pretty steep and long, and though my knees are good, my thighs were getting fatigued. I find I sometimes have to stop for a few minutes and rest my legs, then I'm good to go - almost like they got their second wind, and I just run up the hill no problems. I guess that ultimately, it will make me a better/stronger climber - in groups rides, I pass a lot of people only because my bike can only go so slow because it doesn't have a granny; if I pedaled any slower, I'd literally fall over