I am brand new into the world of road biking after riding MTB for the past 20+ years. I picked up an 89 Nishiki lugged steel road bike at a garage sale, threw on some new (non cracked!) tires and went for a spin. Immediately I was hooked and on my first ride I went 22 miles in a hair under 60 minutes. On my MTB I would have averaged 16 mph on a good day so this was much, much faster. Anyway - I decided I wanted something better and not salmon pink colored like my Nishiki so I started to hunt for a replacement. My daycare lady offered me a chance to ride her full carbon fiber Specialized Roubaix and I jumped at the opportunity. What I experienced could only be described as jarring, noisy and not really that impressive to me. Sure - the bike was super light and fast - but it just felt really strange. I then took her husband's steel Jamis commuter bike around the block and immediatly liked the way it felt better. The next night I went and tested a 92 Schwinn Paramount Series 7 that I found on Craigslist and thought it was perfect so I now own it. This bike feels great and while it feels extremely fast to me - it isn't bone jarring and noisy at all. Maybe my feelings will change after I rack up some miles like the people on this board - but for now I guess I will stick to my 16 year old OS Cro-Mo, 650c wheeled wonder. Besides - for the price of a pair of CF handlebars I am riding a decent bike.