Even with 34/28 in use I was standing on the pedals for a segment of this climb - http://veloviewer.com/segments/6665281On a very steep hill (20 or 25%)....
The latter, that way if you get the gear changes just right and timed well, you can maintain a fairly consistent cadence from the flatter bit up to the steeper bit. I even use slightly different gears for standing up pedaling vs sitting down pedaling.Is it best to hit a steep climb in your granny gear and work through to a higher gear as you progress up the hill or hit it in a higher gear and work through to lower gears as the effort increases?
Indeed. I am about 10 kgs over my best climbing weight but I was happy to spin up some 15-20% climbs today using my 28/30 bottom gear. I could probably have grunted my way up standing in a higher gear but it would have hurt and I wouldn't have managed to go any quicker.One has lower gears.
I don't ride those gradients, I walk them as it would be just as quick.On a very steep hill (20 or 25%) .