Originally Posted by DocRay
And while you compare carbon and ally, did you use the same wheels? tires? they make a huge difference.
Yes. At the time I built up the alu bike, I only had one wheelset, so it got swapped between the two bikes. In fact, the saddle and pedals got swapped at first too, until I finally threw an old saddle from my mtb on the alu bike.
I didn't just start riding last year or something. I've put a lot of miles on a lot of different bikes. In fact the only thing I've not ridden extensively is high quality steel. Before my carbon road bike, I had a Cannondale, and when I made that switch, no one ever mentioned anything about the ride differences, and the first thing I noticed was how much smoother the carbon bike was on bumpy roads. Sure, maybe it was a little less stiff, but the current alu bike is not stiff at all, and there's still a difference.
Maybe some people on some bikes cannot notice much of a difference between the materials on the roads they ride on. But I can, and I will continue to base MY purchase decisions on MY experience and not something written on the Internet by someone who has preferences and opinions that might not match mine. Just as I don't expect anyone else to base their purchasing decision on my opinions and preferences.
As sydney would say, "Your Mileage May Vary".