Originally Posted by
55/Rad
In your 20's, ride alu.
30's and 40's, ride carbon
50's and above, ride Ti
And when you are done with those, go give steel a try. We'll wait.
I did it backwards!
Age 13 to 53, rode and raced steel (Reynolds 531 and 853, Columbus SL and SP).
Age 54 to (now) 59, aluminum all the way (Motobecane Le Champion SL, Felt TK2) for my (average) 15 hours of hard riding/week.
The Reynolds 853 steel bike has been relegated to commuting. Skipped carbon and Ti; since all the steel and aluminum racing-geometry bikes I've ever ridden have felt pretty much the same to me (except for the lightness of the aluminum bikes for climbing, of course), I assume that carbon and Ti bikes would feel about the same, too, so what's the point?
And yes, I know that Ti is lighter than steel and stronger than aluminum. However, it's also heavier than aluminum and weaker than steel.