I suggest that you reverse the two gears so that when you pedal forward you are in low gear. When starting from a dead stop, you need the higher torque provided by the low gear. It is more natural to pedal forward, which is your instinctive motion. Also, if you have to stand up on the pedals, you want to be pedaling forward. Once you are up to speed, you can begin to pedal backward to get the benefit of high gear. It will be easier to go fast pedaling backward. You don't have to believe my analysis, but you do have to try it for yourself to see which of the two arrangements works best. In point of fact, you don't have to change anything on the rear hub; you can achieve the alternate configuration by merely rerouting the chain.
If going uphill, the seat is further back related to the crank (bike is tilted backwards due to the incline), so, it is ideal for back-pedaling. Additionally, when launching (forwards, heavy), one can also "stand" with the full bodyweight, usually on the left crank, to gain some respectable momentum, that´s fairly easy, it´s only half a rotation, and one exploits the full bodyweight, since he´s standing upright anyway (example: trafficlights). Then one can proceed pedaling backwards (light), and use the full physiological potential when wanting high speeds, by pedaling forwards. So, one can pedal backwards (light) when uphill, cause this´s the only situation where backwards feels similar physiological as forwards (since bike is slightly tilted backwards). Anyway your theory is also true, one has to try out both! In Germany, a bike is an everyday-item, so, I tend to think practically, but still, I´d have to try the different solutions out... I always think that speeding is 80% of the time, while launching/uphills just 20%, and your way means backwards-pedaling 80% of the time...!
