I wouldn’t go that far, but I might say that hopping shows where your rolling technique needs improvement. Personally, I am lousy at hopping because I usually will roll something to the best of my ability, for multiple tries, then walk up if needed.
I am not going to test that to see if it works for me.
Booo. That’s fine if the ride is all about the downhill, but riding up boring, easy trails isn’t very rewarding. My favorite trails are mostly singletrack, so you have to work hard to get up. Though on the original Muni Weekend trail (Clementine Loop, Auburn, CA), the way up is rough fire road and some paved road, this is to get you to the super-fun Culvert and Confluence Trails on the way down. Those would be REALLY hard to ride all the way up…
So, how to ride up the steeps? Good advice from Canoeheadted above; if terrain allows, attack the hill with as much speed as you can, and try to keep your momentum going. Eventually this will slow down, and you may be able to continue some more, still seated, but you have to stand up once the going gets too hard to sit. Then as your speed drops, concentrate on each power stroke, making sure you get through the bottom with enough forward momentum to catch the next one. Be ready to “catch” yourself if your wheel stops momentarily; you can bend at the waist to keep from over-riding your balance point.
Hold onto the seat. While going fast, this makes it easier to spin; taking some of the seat control off of your legs so they can pedal. As you start cranking, your grip there will provide resistance to your power strokes, so you don’t lift off the seat.
Don’t celebrate until you have completely crested the hill! Celebrating too early has been the “downfall” of all of us from time to time.
If you fall off, back up and try that spot again. My standard approach is to give a spot three tries before moving on. Conquer as much of the climb as you can; then your future rides will be more about linking those sections together without a dismount.
I recommend against clipless pedals, but to each his own. I know they will give a better grip, but can also lead to nose, general face, hand and wrist injuries. I use good MTB pedals with metal pins, and 5-10 shoes with Stealth rubber soles. That’s a crazy amount of grip!
All the good riders are not using shorter cranks. However, most of the fast, good riders are. Also, they tend to have young knees. I have 125/150s on my KH 26". The 150s give the most control, partially because that’s what I ride the most (also same size as my Road uni). The 125s are faster, and with more practice (and fitness) I believe I will be able to ride confidently over more things with them. But I don’t like switching them mid-ride. My next pair of pedals will allow for a pedal wrench, which is much more convenient than a little allen wrench jamming up behind the brake disc, etc.
Getting going on an upslope is indeed harder than doing it downhill or on the flat. First you have to get way up in front of the wheel to reach your balance point, then farther so you can pedal into it. And then, you have to pedal pretty hard. There is an embarrassing video of me doing an Uphill Mounting workshop at the first Muni Weekend (Oct. 1996, Auburn, CA). I’m not sharing it; plus I think my copy is on analog tape! It demonstrates that this is a pretty hard thing to do, as with all my explanations and technique descriptions, none of my attempts to demonstrate this were successful! Bear in mind I was riding a 24" Miyata with a 1.75" tire with about 60 pounds of pressure in it (any less and you’d get pinch flats). But almost everyone else there was riding something similar; the first purpose-built “Muni” didn’t hit the market for two more years…