A lot of the Soma ES questions I've searched for seem to be fairly old on here so I thought I'd ask again.

My 2014 Soma ES is my first road bike and I'm wondering what other people's opinions are. I bought it mainly as a laid back road/sport bike - but it's starting to turn into more of a commuter. I'm wondering how much of a rack load I can consistently carry day in and day out. Generally I love the bike (except for the color - thought it would grow on me) just wanting to hear what others think. I have a friend trying to talk me into getting into some 80s Japanese steel - but I think that's a cult of some sort.

I keep hearing people talk about stiffness - but I don't have anything really to compare this frame to.