Frame material
 

I went to a bike shop in my neighborhood today and chatted with the shop owner. He told me that he much prefers the older steel frames to the new aluminium ones because steel absorbs some of the shocks one gets while on the road while aluminium transmists these shocks to the rider.

Is that so? I have an old steel bike at home but haven't been using it much. Does anybody have experience/thoughts on this?

"STEEL IS REAL"

The folks that make aluminum etc. frames TRY to emulate the "steel ride", ( see comfort with performance).
A steel frame can be fixed if bent or damaged.
Steel is proven to last
At worst Steel is only slightly heavier than the other frame materials
Pro teams do use aluminum etc., but the bikes are furnished and the teams are generally PAID to ride that brand. I know of a US based team, ( 9 riders), that went through 56 frames in one season.
Ride Ferrous
Pat

It really depends on the type of tubing, as well as the frame design. There are multitudes of el-cheapo straight-gauge cro-moly frames out there that ride like a rock, too. If you are looking for a better ride, a bike with double-butted manganese-moly steel frame would be the place to start.