Originally Posted by
bisiklet
IMHO, "an amateur on carbon frame" is kind of an oxymoron. I'd advise against CF and all the fancy stuff. They're for racers. For us amateurs a decent lightweight frame is okay. Both my touring and mountain bikes are Reynolds 531 and it is more than what I need. Let it take 10% more time to arrive there. Put another way, let your records be 10% lesser. So what? If you enjoy it, then 10% (even 25%) is nothing. If you don't, then CF won't buy that anyway. When you start comparing grams and millimeters, the joy will gradually give way to fruitless dry obsession (not to say fetish). There are some people I know who are more delighted gazing and inpecting their bikes than actually riding it.
An amateur either -unsuccessfully- races or -successfully- enjoys it. Only racers seem to both race and enjoy it at the same time - don't know how they do it, though.
(Disclaimer: This is a personal opinion and may not be in accordance with majority.)
Well I don't think that you need to be so utilitarian about your ride. Most Ferrari owners are not race car drivers. I think for someone who derives more pleasure from the build than the ride the latest technology is very appealing. Whether the potential of the bike is ever reached is not important and its attributes can be realized at a lower performance level. In other words it will go slow better than other bikes.