I understand the gearing is different. Funny thing is, I don't even like using my small chainring because I feel like I could expend less energy and make better time just pushing the thing. Even when I rode it off-road, if it was steep enough to need the small ring, I couldn't keep the front wheel on the ground. When I leaned forward to weight the front, I just spun the rear tire. Mountain bikes just aren't for me, I guess.

Now, I wonder if there's an LBS that will let me hook up a trailer to a test bike and take it out of the parking lot so I can try it out on what passes for hills around here.