Ultimately, I think everyone needs to find out for themselves, by having the experience of riding different bikes. You can't really even tell on a test ride- you have to live with a bike for a while. That is why I bou8ght my (used) Venge- I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about "good carbon bikes". I had never bought into all the hype; never even pictured myself owning a carbon bike; but I just had to try it. And while I like my CF bike well-enough, I can't say that it offers any advantage in performance or comfort over the old Klein. Ifr I had paid new-bike price for it, I would have been very disappointed. Even at less than half of new-price, I keep thinking that it seems like a lot for something that is no better than an 18 year-old AL bike. But I guess it depends on how good your old bike is; and how curious you are. For me, it was a worthwhile experiment, to satisfy my curiosity and enable me to have 2 good bikes. Best thing about it? The style and looks....and an excuse to get rid of my old Bikesdirect bike.