I think I have the whole frame spectrum covered with my current bicycles. Mostly.
My observations:

Ibis Titanium Road - just refinished this 10 year old frame and got it back on the road with Dura Ace. Like a new bike. Amazing. Fantastic ride. Like steel but lighter, much more 'zing'. Nothing is this comfortable on a long ride. Rode Ti frames for 10+ years - and getting this bike back on the road with state of the art components makes me remember why. Just loving this bicycle.

Cannondale Six13- Carbon/aluminum mix. Most of the benefits of carbon (smooth ride, shock absorption) but more reponsive/lively. Better racing bike than the Ti Ibis - but maybe not as responsive/smooth riding. But close. Lighter frame, stiffer BB. Great handling. Climbs like nothing I've ridden. Still the best pure racing bike I've ever experienced.

Jamis Dragon MTB (1999, XTR, hardtail) - Reynolds 853 steel. A bit heavier than the materials above (and of course it's an MTB, about 23.75 lbs, not too bad for a hard tail), but GREAT feel and ride.

Cannondale CAAD3 - Aluminum, 1998 model. Great racing bike, VERY harsh rear end compared to any of the above. But find for a 'rain' bike for rides of 2 hours or less.

I've also test ridden monocoque CF frames. They feel fine, but less responsive than any of the above. Can't really pass final judgement on them without riding one for a month or so - and that's hard to do without purchasing one. I did own a lugged CF Trek back in 1990, and liked that quite a bit.

If I had to opt for one bike? Tough choice. But after falling in love with that Cannondale Six13 - I've fallen for that Ibis Ti Road all over again. Flip a coin. They're very different and both fantastic bikes.

I tried to post photos. The server doesn't really work all the time anymore. That's why you see so many double posts here. Time to upgrade boys.

Concise real world experience. Something a newbie like me needs. Thanks

Woody

Thanks for posting. I appreciate reading your impressions and I hope nobody flames for it. By the way, I hate you for being so lucky that you can compare your Ibis Ti to your Six13

You're right, it is nice being able to have a couple of high end rides. But I'd trade it all for a better motor and to be 25 again : ). It's interesting to have bikes of varying materials to 'A-B' compare on a regular basis. I'm enjoying it so much I'm even considering a monocoque CF bike like a Trek or Cervelo. Can you ever have enough bicycles? Well, my wife thinks you can. On the other hand this is my over riding hobby/leisure pursuit. And compared to some of my old hobbies, this is cheap. Fortunately my spouse remembers that, realizes this is easier financially - and keeps me out of trouble. Hard to get into hot water with your wife when you're riding 250+ miles a week on top of a career (and yes, I actually have one of those too, but we shall never speak of that again).

Either way it's so GREAT to be riding again after a five year layoff. Man that sucked. And the best part is since I got back to riding things like cold and rain don't bother me nearly as much as they once did. After a year back on wheels I'm happy to be riding PERIOD. Rain schmain. Anything's better than lying around the house. Did THAT (on Dr.'s orders) for five years. F that.

The owner of a local bike shop told me 'once you're up in this price range nothing really sucks'. He meant $3K+ bicycles. That's pretty much true. And that's true of 90% of the bikes that cost over $1500 for that matter. So it's all good. I ride quite a bit, so it's Dura Ace for me. Been riding D.A. for 17 years. I'm not changing now : ).

Flames? I'm used to them here.

I'll try the photos one more time, hope this works.

Rode the Six13 this AM. Loving the Ibis, but the Cannondale is kind of like taking off the donut in the batting circle and stepping up to the plate. The 1lb. lighter weight/stiffer BB/lighter Mavic ES wheels make a noticeable difference climbing steeper hills. Wow. Like I said, it's all good. The Ibis for training/Six13 for competiive riding mix seems like it will work very nicely.

Gt to see 'em this time patentcad, and what a couple of lookers they are. They are both way beyond my riding level, though. I do have to say that your Cannondale is one of my dream bikes if only I had the engine to match it. BTW I wish I was 25 again too, instead of 20 years older.

Cheers,

Brian

Great looking bikes patentcad! I have Dura-Ace on my bike also and love it........BTW, I'm only posting this once!

Sorry for the multiple posts - the server was very balky and I kept hitting 'post' - anyway, I deleted the extraneous entries.

I don't believe you have to be Michael Schumacher to drive a Ferrari (or enjoy it) or Gilberto Simoni to ride a $4000 Cannondale and have it improve your riding and appreciation of the sport. And a better bicycle WILL make most riders somewhat better for a couple of reasons - one being that it's EASIER to ride, and another that it may INSPIRE you to ride more- and perhaps better.

So don't think any bicycle is 'over your head'. I don't think that's possible. Inappropriate for your riding type, conditioning, physical needs - possibly. But again, you don't have to be Lance to ride Lance's bike. You just need $10K to drop on an expensive Trek : ). Or you could settle for the cheaper Cannondales that rode right next to him in the peloton for 54% less money (my bike lists for $4600 stock).

Like I said it's all good. Bicycles are things of beauty, and as much as I go off about it 'not being about the bike' - and it's not - they are big fun, aren't they? And that's what this is about too I guess. It's more of a passion and a lifestyle for me, but it's also a hobby. And that's the WEENIE part. The fun part : ).

So I go on rants about 'foo foo' bikes like Serottas and Sevens, and it's mostly to get a rise out of some of the other OCP weenies here (I'm the biggest one of course). But they are BEAUTIFUL bikes just like my Ibis. And I do understand why people are passionate about them. Just don't take it all that seriously. Because they're STILL just bicycles. But once you get to this level they ARE fun to ride aren't they? Like taking Ferraris for test drives.

By the way, once we hit 45 we ALL need new motors : ).