I bought a Fuji Nevada 3.0/Giant Sedona DX/Giant Defy 3 in that order.
If I had bought the Defy first, I would have given up riding. There is virtually no flat land here and I didn't/don't have the strength to turn 30/42/52-12/26 gearset up the hills here.
The Sedona has a 28/38/48-11/32 set and I can manage it well, the Nevada is a 24/34/42-11/32 and I have no problems going anywhere with it.