Road Cycling - What good is carbon?

On a race bike does this stuff really make that much of a difference? This being the seat and chain stays? It seems that people have in mind that because a bike has carbon on it, it is better than a quality aluminum frame, is this the case? Iban Mayo rode an all aluminum Orbea to victory on Alpe d’Huez (lets not forget this guy is an incredible athlete)

Ok, than was an incoherent jumble of crap, but honestly – looking at it from a strict racing viewpoint, what advantages does carbon (seat, chain stays or even the entire frame) give (if any) over a quality aluminum frame?

The weight savings is probably very little, but (at least on a few websites and people I've talked to) the carbon seatstay helps soak up a bit of road vibration.

Carbon makes good pencils too!! :D

Carbon assemblies are a way for smaller manufacturers to provide a carbon bike, without having an expensive mould for each size. They can use the same rear-triangle unit on several sizes, and they dont have to build up the rear triangle themselves.
I think its a matter of economics, and a way for the little guys to get a foot into the door of high-end carbon frame production.

In the world of competitive cycling, every gram of weight reduction helps. The reduction of an individual component may not seem that great, but when added to the reduction of other components, the savings can be fantastic.

Ever listen to a NASCAR mechanic talk about getting an extra horsepower out of a 750HP engine by modifying several different parts? Or a world-class sprinter wanting lighter shoes and shorts so he can get that extra 1/100th of a second needed for a world record? Its the same in cycling.

The difference in weight of a carbon rear triangle versus aluminum may be what provides the winning margin in the world championship.

And, the public, being the lemmings that we are, want what our heros ride.