I guess I cannot relate to that argument. Either my route is smoother than most, or my steel road bike with 27x1 1/8 tires (26mm wide) absorbs vibrations nearly as well as an aluminum hybrid with x28-35. As such, the comfort thing is not a factor to consider, and the decision is easy. It would be interesting to be able to ride an aluminum road bike with 700x25 tires and see if the ride is noticeably rougher. Won't have one of those anytime soon however.