Steel is a better ride than aluminum, for me at least. Alu bikes seem brittle--the ride, that is. Never have liked them. As for rust, if you take care of your bike, rust will be minimal. That's just common sense--clean your bike every once in a while. And if you don't, it's not going to rust though for a very, very long time. My '85 Stumpjumper was used hard and hardly cared for when I lived in a salty, snowy land. It's 21 years old and fine.