Lowest gear too hard!

[lukesdad]

If I was you - I'd keep what you have and go and practice a bit more. Costs nowt but a pound of flesh... if you're still finding it unworkable in a couple of months, then you could get a cassette with a larger sprocket but as you have eluded to, it may require a change of rear mech and so on...

Sage advice. If you want to get good at something you know what you have to do....... PRACTICE.

 

[Rob3rt]

1. Climbing hills will more naturally put you in a place that is improving fitness. You may ride at 7mph, and 2 months later ride at 10mph. However, there is no wimping out. You work the hill. At the point you get tired, you carry on working.

2. You have to thrash a bike in a tougher gear on the flat to approach anything like THRESHOLD pace. There is wimping out. If it hurts, people stop, coast, take a breather. There is a lot of concious thought and effort to maintain that intensity. Most will baulk at it.

3. Thrashing the bike at THRESHOLD pace on the flat road sees speeds north of 25mph and the distance covered at that speed is great. To do this involves fast, interactions with traffic moving at comparable speeds, throw in people, rain, and whatever other factors you care to list.
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2) One could roughly equate threshold (lactate threshold) to the point where your legs start to burn, this would not involve thrashing the bike in a tough gear, it would involve riding at a controlled yet uncomfortable pace, it is not a maximal effort. A very often used training session is the 2x20 min at threshold session, this is usually done on the flat or the turbo trainer.

3) Possibly, if you are a pretty rapid rider!