Slim, once again back to my original point. You are letting some uknowledgeable noob
PR person or two at Trek total derail your search for a steel CX bike. If you were really interested in getting a steel bike instead of waving some personal war against Trek, you would simply go to a Trek LBS and give the Lane a good long test ride and decide if it's a bike that you might want or not. I would challenge you to go test ride this bike and get back to us with your honest opinion.