I have never had a carbon bike so I can not speak from experience, but it seems to me that carbon may be a bit oversold. I'm guessing the main attribute one is looking for when considering carbon is weight. An aluminum bike with a carbon fork is probably going to weigh a little more, but is it worth the "lot more" in cost? That's your decision of course, but if you're like most people, you make decisions based on value (cost/quality balance).