Yes, and it's even harder for me to negotiate these on my custom bike! The seatpost is higher relative to the pedals and i have to think, just to not catch my shorts on the nose of the saddle, let alone try to push off on a steep uphill. I am not weak in the legs by any means, but I just avoid these. I took my Kuota today, even though I would have appreciated the 2 lower gears on the other bike, on that climb, but I had looked at the route before hand and recognized that one spot which had caused me trouble on a group ride 2 years ago. My DH also thinks nothing of these things, but he's learned that I hate them.