I ride steel, and my roomate rides a cannondale. I find his bike to be faster at accelerating but mine holds on to its speed better. I find the handling on mine to be a bit better, tho his is very responsive too. I find skidding easier on his, but its not very difficult on mine. The ride is a lot more comfortable on my bike, my hands/ass hurt after riding his for a few miles. I think the difference in weight is about 2 lbs, tho ive never weighed either bike.