LOL, I am already down do a ~1.84 gear ratio so ~47.8 gear inches! Thinking of going down to ~45" (~1.73 gear ratio) next... not quite to 'trials' ratios (1.2-1.5) but getting mighty close! I don't mind spinning on the flats as my main focus is hill slaying... currently I can spin up to ~43-45 kph @ ~190-200 rpm for a solid minute on the flats so I can still boogey ;-)

To be clear those are MAX slope percentages for only the steepest sections (pitches) of only a few meters on the hills. The tallest hill we have here is only ~85 meters in elevation.

Actually, tire grip doesn't seem to be the problem on any of these hills whether it be dirt or urban (except for the single loose dirt hill with the steepest pitch of 50-60%... but even a knobby would have difficulty here). The issue at hand is slightly too high of gearing... I really think if it was a tad lower the ascents would be easier if not smoother.

Time to rethink where I am going with this build... both tire and gearing wise as I found me some even steeper slopes and DIRT!

Within 2 kilometers of my home I have discovered: a flat loose dirt and sandy trail; a small gravel path; a few steeper dirt hills (light and hard packed) with max slopes/pitches of 60-70%; and a semi-hard packed dirt track that makes a complete circle offering a pseudo-pump track experience with max slopes ranging from 15-25%.

Besides my current haunt of urban tarmac/concrete hills reaching max slopes/pitches of 25-30% I have also found a couple more steeper paved hills with short sections (5-10 meters) of slopes reaching 30-35%!

GEARING:
I am seriously considering dropping my gearing down some (nearing trial bike ratios/inches) so that I can conquer these steeper hills and mess about in the dirt. Current gearing is at: ~1.84 / ~47.8"

TIRES:
Also, after a few LBS visits I have learned that Speedsters are horribly prone to punctures here in Thailand due to the combination of road debris (glass & metal) and albeit, very small, but rather sharp pieces of limestone. So Maxxis DTH and Vee Rubber Speedsters are definitely off the list now... :-(

SSer = Single Speeder

Yeah, Shimano's 'Olive' chain is nearly bombproof and very popular with a lot of SSers. It is heavy though.

My bike was originally a fixie... lucky it came with a very nice Flip-Flop hub so after a few months of fixed riding I converted it to single-speed via a freewheel for more cruising fun! I just didn't like fixed though I do clearly see the allure it offers cyclists. With that said I have very strong legs and truly enjoy spinning; pumping up steep hills; and standing while riding on a single speed. I have never liked multi-speed/geared cycling.

Many thanks, I am very pleased with this bike thus far. The gear ratio and gear inches for a 26t sprocket & 14t cog; 26" x ~2.0" tires; and 175mm cranks is ~1.84 and 47.8".

The four hills that I have around me range from 25 up to 85 meters in height and average 8-15% on the slopes/grades with the max pitch/slope sections @ 20-30%. So you see why the lower gear ratio is definitely required but I am finding my legs already adapting to this ratio and my climbing speed has been increasing. I plan to slowly increase the gear ratio/inches via changing my front chain sprocket. First to either a 27 or 28t and then slowly working my way up from there as my legs strengthen but I highly doubt I'll get much bigger than a 33t sprocket as that will be a ~2.36 / ~61" gear ratio/inches which I think may prove too high for climbing the max slope sections.

I am holding off on installing the bigger sprocket until I get my new tires as they will be heavier and probably wider than the el cheapo tires that are currently on the bike now... Bombtrack Helix tires which are made by Innova (Model No. IA-2128-02 @ US$10 per). It will probably take a few weeks for me to adjust to the heavier/wider tires on the climbs.