Pk RMS13, I have fallen into the bad habit of making negative cutting comments here, something that seems pervasive on the old 41. So for that, I apologize. The point that I was trying to make is for you to generalize about something that you have never owned, ridden or ridden different versions of is stupid. It would be like for me to say that carbon rims are harsh riding, terrible in cross winds, and dangerous when braking if wet, thus they are pure gimmick for those who want to look as if they are fast racers and thus must be taken seriously. I could say that all of those three generalizations are true, but not universally true to all carbon wheels.

Titanium frames are compliant to varying degrees but other than some earlier models or those intended for comfort riding, they are not flexy. When I first switched to a Ti frame in 2001, it replaced my big tube Cannondale aluminum frame - one which was painfully stiff and for other than shorter crit' racing, it would beat me up. I was in my early 40s at that time and my lower back was suffering. The first ride on the Merlin with the same parts and wheels from the Cannondale simply migrated over stunned me. It was smooth riding, like it was floating over the harsh stuff, yet when I stood up to hammer a hill, the acceleration and stiffness in the bottom bracket area was not all that far from rock hard Cannondale. I remember thinking, How the hell did they (Merlin) do that? I mean this thing is really comfortable to ride, descends perfectly but when I step up and hit it hard, it punches nearly the same at that harsh aluminum frame!" It is a much more balanced riding bike than my top of the line 2013 Orbea CF bike. Yes, the CF is really a nice responsive bike but I can not generalize about all CF frames just as I can not about all Ti frames. When I put my 1300 gram stiff climbing wheels on the Ti bike, it totally changes its personality and it feels like a full-on race bike.

I will say that I rode a new Moots RSL http://moots.com/wp-content/uploads/...ew-w-Cover.pdf and that frame and bike setup stunned me, just as the review in Peloton magazine claimed.