Originally Posted by JamesInSJ

This is my personal opinion on it, but I wish I had just kept my 2011 and waited a little longer to just make the upgrade straight to carbon (which I did earlier this year). The 2011/12 2.x aluminum frame is just perfection for the 2.x series...making one of the best aluminum frames out there with a balance of performance/comfort. I feel like the 2013 frame (and maybe this applies to the 2014 one too if they made no changes) increased stiffness in the wrong places. I never noticed any flex when pounding out of the saddle in the 2011 frame, but I also found the frame just compliant enough to inspire confidence in sharp turns and it didn't rattle my teeth when riding on poor road conditions. The 2013 frame seemed too stiff everywhere...it was always rattling me to death on less than ideal roads. I also didn't feel like it initiated sharp turns as well and I definitely noticed my downhill/fast turn speeds drop, probably from a lack of confidence on this frame. My suggestion...you have some pretty good components on your 2.3 already...your next upgrade should be to a 4.x or even better 5.x carbon frame. I went to a 2012 5.x frame and love every second of it. The pre-2013/14 Madone carbon frames (i.e. without the kammfoil design) can be had for $700-800 on eBay and probably locally if you can find them. I hunted for several months to finally get the right one so take your time. Ask lots of questions of the seller and don't buy from a seller that doesn't intimately know the history of the frame (i.e. original owner willing to tell you all about his riding and enjoyment of it and what/why he upgraded to something else). Then buy a cable kit (Jagwire pro racer = $35) and swap all your components over.