I really like my carbon frame, but its fragility kind of scares me. I'm not the most crash-free rider in the world. I've never ridden aluminum, so I can't really speak to the comfort level. But enough people told me aluminum would beat me to death that I went for carbon.

One thing is, if you get a steel frame, I think you want the triple for sure, because putting a lot of torque on the cranks really flexes the frame. My old steel bike would really twist under a high hill-climbing load. Not only do you waste a lot of energy that way, but it can make the rear derailleur want to upshift.

It depends on your local terrain, too, which I'm not familiar with. How steep are the hills?

(And this is where I have to tell a story: I got my new bike as a Christmas present, so I got it from a shop in Florida near our winter home - intending to bring it back to hill country for the summer. You should've seen the look on the guy's face when I ordered it with a triple . I don't suppose they get much call for those in Florida.)