Originally Posted by
jeffpoulin
What about carbon versus steel? I don't have any aluminum forked bikes, but I have a hard time telling the difference between my curved steel forks and my straight carbon forks.
That sounds like a good endorsement for carbon, if you ask me. The curve in your steel fork is acting as a spring, absorbing some of the bumps. Your straight carbon fork is a column that transmits the bumps up to your arms, but is stiffer, so nice for sprinting when you stand on the pedals. If the carbon one feels the same as the curved ones despite this, yay carbon!