keff We have short, steep hills in my area of the UK but my bike does have the derailleur gears to cope (21 in all).
There are similarly steep hills in the area around Washington, DC where I live. I have solved the problem by converting my standard bicycle to an eBike. I've now done this sort of conversion twice. Riding the way I do, I am still pedaling, using just enough pedal assist so that I can keep a steady cadence at roughly the same intensity of effort.
This bike frame was always too small, but since I got it off the street when discarded by a local teen-ager and his family, the price was right. On this one I used a SwychKit - a pedal assisted motor with the power supply mounted over the handle bars, and the motor pulling the bike from the front when it sensed me pedaling.
I decided to upgrade, did a lot of research, and with the help of a local bike mechanic who was willing to work with me, put together this pedal assisted rear wheel drive eBike on a Trek frame. The mid-motor is a Bafang, very reliable, very powerful. The battery is heavy, but detachable, and with it I can ride more hours (4+) then I can currently handle. It has a throttle, illegal I think in the UK, but you can use it without one, and I have governed the top speed at 15MPH so I don't iinjure myself. It will do close to double that without the governor.
