Originally Posted by Dahon.Steve
Steel is real. Entry level Alu is hard as heck. Did you ever wonder why so many mint Trek 1000's are on sale on Ebay for dirt cheap prices. It just so happens the "slightly wider" road bikes are also the more expensive brands! The better Alu is going to cost you money so why not look at steel bikes. The site below has entry level steel bikes for sale....
www.bicycleblowout.com
You make a good argument. I think I'll give more consideration to cromo. Thanks for the URL.