I will try them out on my regular hill loop tomorrow morning - just to see the difference - I was expecting more noticable difference on flats, but if there's a hill difference, so much the better! I need all the hill help I can get!

So I've been considering a new bike for a while, and retiring my current bike as a wet weather/trainer bike (after putting all it's original components back on it!). When I bought that bike I was 40+ pounds heavier, and I said I'd just be riding short, flat rides... Now it's hills, longer rides, and in (how many days, Trek420?) as many miles in 7 days as I rode in the first 6 months I had the bike!

I think I'd like a steel bike, and I sure like the look of those Seven frames. I think I'll make a savings plan for the fall and winter, and start researching and test riding...