Originally Posted by
data
He didn't say where he was, but I, in Brooklyn, have to go over a lot of bad roads -- imo people ride ss/fg bikes in urban environments that typically have poor and flat roads and generally the rides aren't as long as a geared bike. Of course, if you're in a hilly area like SF, Al might be better but everywhere else, dampening and responsiveness would seem to be more desired than stiffness-- which would make steel a better choice.
I'm not going to go too deep into this, because there's way too much that can be said on the subject and I have things to do today. Check out what
Sheldon Brown has to say on the subject. There's tons more info out there too if you look for it. I will say that I've ridden an AL Cannondale road bike on really ****ty roads, and I've been fine. I've bumped up to 28's and it isn't jarring at all. As far as responsiveness, that really has nothing to do with the metal at all. That's more geometry than anything.
Originally Posted by data
I have no problems with how AL looks, the pista concept and trek t1 are pretty nice looking bikes, but I would rather be riding steel on the street.
More power to you. I like to keep my options open though.