I can only speak from personal experience, but I am indeed going faster on my carbon bike than I did on my 19 year old aluminum bike. The numbers don't lie. Not only that, but I go much farther than I did with my old bike before tiring. For me, it's the the difference between night and day; no exaggeration. The carbon bike just chews up the vibrations in the road that used to beat me to death with my old aluminum bike. I'm not saying that you would have the same experience that I've had, but for me, I'm as pleased as I can be with my carbon bike and I will NEVER go back to aluminum.