I have never ridden one of those harsh steel bikes, but I've heard many people talk about them. My Paramount PDG is about the stiffest steel bike I've ridden, and it's fine for all day rides, even though it was designed as a crit bike. It was supposed to compete with Cannondale's crit bikes which were popular during the late '80's, early 90's.
One thing my Cannondale does very well is descending and high speed cornering. Once I timed a very twisty, 5000 foot, 18 mile descent, comparing my steel Bottecchia and my Cannondale, and the Cannondale had a good 2-3 minute advantage.