Time to admit I am struggling getting a decent distance on 'Toxy'. Ive not even broken 10 miles yet & very little seems to be getting easier. Cadence is slower now as I'm pushing bigger gears, the 11-34 gearing helping no end.
Sadly, at recommended tyre pressures the USS is VERY nervous no matter how light I try to be with the controls.
Might as well finish all my whining at once, instant hills from the front door are killing me, no option to go around either, just postpones the pain a little longer.
I know getting out and doing it, is the only answer - time will tell.
Cheers
Keep going! When I started last November I took the 'bent to a nearby very quiet and flat lane, with a dead end so that there would be minimal traffic. It took me about half a dozen half-hour sessions before I felt confident enough to try slightly busier lanes - and I have OSS. (and that was after a week rolling around my close with no traffic at all!)
My first rides were no more than a couple of miles, and it wasn't until mid-January that I broke 30 miles - so maybe 2 months in and with probably 100 miles under my tyres. I can now easily do 100k. I still get nervous in traffic and the Anglesey audax was a bit fraught until the peloton dropped me and I had clear roads around me. Sometimes the OSS still bites me and I have a wobble, I've largely got used to steering, but at low speeds it's still sensitive - don't pull on the bars! I suspect the USS is much more sensitive. If you can ride uphill at 4mph that's an achievement - uphill at 3mph I'm starting to get nervous - but downhill I can crawl at maybe 1mph - so you seem to be mastering the USS.
Why are you pushing bigger gears? You have a triple up front, with a 30/34 you should have around a 25" bottom gear - that should help you to spin. You need the higher cadence - pushing a high gear uphill will not help balance, knees or stamina.
It really does take time to develop new leg muscles - mine feel to be a very different shape now compared to the pre-'bent era. And that's taken me maybe 1400 miles now over 7 months.
If you can, I'd take the bike somewhere with some flatter, quiet roads and just get some miles in without the additional challenge of spinning up a hill at low speed - that's bound to sap your confidence. Must be some seafront rides around Hartlepool where you can build up some experience.
Keep going - that's a really good looking bike and you need to be out mile-munching. You'll get there - it just takes time and I suspect the USS is giving you a steeper learning curve than an OSS would have.
