You didn't say what kind of bike the frame material was for. If a road bike, I have had all sorts of frame material, and steel was the best, and I still have several steel bikes. That was until I got a titanium bike, that bike rides like it's on air...fine, not like it's on air but it is noticeably smoother than steel.

But it does depend on how the bike is going to be used. In 2019 I bought a steel touring bike, why steel if I love TI so much? due to cost for one, but when a steel touring bike is loaded up, along with its larger tires, it rides very smoothly, so there is no need to go with a TI touring bike.

If you're going to be racing a road bike above CAT 3 you probably want a CF bike because it's lighter and responsive, but having said that if you're going to be road racing CAT 3 or below, I would only use an aluminum frame bike because crashes happen a lot in racing, and more so in the beginning categories, and an AL frame is a lot less expensive to replace vs a CF frame. Also, above CAT 3 levels you usually get at least a huge discount on bikes, but most of the time you will get a free bike, so a CF bike is the way to go then.

Let me clear the air because I know how people get when it comes to frames, these are just my thoughts, nothing political going on with my response.