Me, I'd take the McClean. But I'm not a strong climber. Never have been.

Saturday I rode the hilliest route I can reach locally, with 2,600 feet in 64 miles. Not much by most standards but we don't have many hills.

I took the Centurion Ironman. The stock 42/24 wasn't nearly appropriate for me. My lower back was already aching from training for this ride doing hill repeats nearby, and lowering the bar to cope with the windier route I'd planned to ride.

After Saturday's ride I could barely move. Between the wrong gearing and 700x23 tires on rough chipseal, I was shot. Couldn't even manage an easy recovery ride until Monday evening.

Heck, I could barely finish the last 10 miles. The outer tail end of Hurricane Harvey hit and I was finishing one of the hilliest sections facing 20-30 mph headwinds and rain. On a couple of 7% grades I was literally pedaling on my heels, around 5 mph -- my legs were shot. Good thing I was riding platforms or I'd have been off the bike walking. More like staggering.

I should have taken the Univega with 30/40/50 triple and 13-28 rear. Yeah, the bike is heavier than the Centurion. But it's far more hill friendly. And the wider tires are better suited to the unusually rough chipseal I encountered.