Where do you mostly ride, the Santa Monicas? That's similar to what I ride in OC (steep 1/2 to 1 mile climbs in my smaller parks and mod to steep 1-8 mile climbs in the Santa Ana range). I demo'd one first and that's what sold me, you should too. Something funny about my demo…I thought the bike was SRAM 1 x 11 with a 42. I was climbing in a race and was saying to myself "I'm glad I have that 42 as a bailout!" I shifted into the last cog and enjoyed the ease it offered. After the race, I told the bike's owner how I really liked the 42. It was then he told me it was only 1 x 10 and that he only had a SRAM crankset. It was a Shimano with a 36 as the lowest--total placebo effect, lol. Now, it did take me a little bit to build my fitness with that set up but I really like it--no chain suck, not wondering if I should stay in which chainring, etc.