Originally Posted by
chaadster
Yes, I agree...and I think it's due to the fact that the cool kids ride steel!
The aluminum era was the worst, though; I'm glad that's over.
Compared to steel, aluminum alloy frames can be made substantially lighter with much better control of directional stiffness. Carbon has the edge but quality aluminum frames are much cheaper to mass produce. Snobs are biased against aluminum because it relatively cheap, but it put men on the moon, fought the Cold War, and is still the mainstay of Dura Ace.