Originally Posted by Wogsterca

See the problem in most of the comparisons, they take a CF frame and put the absolute best and latest components on it, they take the steel bike and go dumpster diving behind the bicycle junk shop for components for it in comparisons. Few recreational riders have the option of a top of the line CF frame and the absolute best and latest components for it. Usually they have a fixed budget handed down by the family financial manager, so if the frame costs 3 times as much, it means you have that much less left for components. A CF frame outfitted with a mix of Sora and 2300, versus a steel frame with Dura-Ace throughout, is going to be a lot closer to even on total bicycle weight, the steel might even be lighter.