Ok, I have been riding all my life. I'll start with the BMX bikes we use to race. There was redline and mongoose which had steel chromoly frames, JMC which had the first ovalized down tube aluminum frame and Torquer which had dual top tube a-la evil imperial mtb. All these bikes felt different and acted different and raced them all. I was a large rider at the time so I tended to break frames and I did break a Laguna and mongoose. I never broke the JMC or Torquer. All these bikes had different handling and ride characteristics. I use to ride 30 miles in a day on a bmx bike on a daily basis during my summers. My redline was the bike of choice followed by my Torquer. For racing my JMC was my bike of choice. It never flexed (stiff) and was superlight. So for my long rides I prefered a little flex and for my racing I prefered stiffness. Funny thing is that the Torquer was aluminum and flexed more than the JMC and less than the redline. I liked it the best, if I had to pick one bike. THe design was the reason.
Moving into mountain bikes, I had both steel and aluminum here. I stayed away from Ti because most of the mfg's tend to make Ti to thin wall to be effective at preventing failures, so Alum or Steel was always the way to go. For heavy duty designs on MTB's, Aluminum is the way to go. I have had SC Bullits, Kona Stabs and Turner RFX's which were tough as hell as well as a ton of hardtails to include Treks, Specialized Schin Jamis and Bianchi. By far my Turner was always the best riding bike and that had to be due to design.
Move to road bikes. Again I have been on many steel bikes to include lemond, Peugot, Bianchi. I have been on many aluminum bikes to include Canondale, Specialized, Giant (TCR). I have been on one Ti bike, a litespeed and I have been on several carbon bikes, including Kestrel Talon, Look KG-361. I always hear people say that carbon flex, however, my kestrel was probably stiffer than most aluminum frames yet dampened vibration very well. The monocoque design worked well. I liked the bike. I like the KG361 better, since it is a little more forgiving. My steel frames were all good and forgiving, but give up weight. The aluminum frames are good as well and usually are stiffer. I have no complaints about the TCR. It was fast and light and fairly confortable.
So in the end, the materials, design, and type of use are all factors if you plan to do some really serious riding, but picking just one factor will get you nothing. I find that I really don't know how much I will like a bike until I have been riding it for a month or so and have put at least several 40 mile plus rides on it. Then I can make a decision. Unfortunately, you have to buy it. Otherwise you can go ff of recommendations or reviews. The old adage, you get what you pay for is usually true to a point, barring price increase due to brand status.
Moving into mountain bikes, I had both steel and aluminum here. I stayed away from Ti because most of the mfg's tend to make Ti to thin wall to be effective at preventing failures, so Alum or Steel was always the way to go. For heavy duty designs on MTB's, Aluminum is the way to go. I have had SC Bullits, Kona Stabs and Turner RFX's which were tough as hell as well as a ton of hardtails to include Treks, Specialized Schin Jamis and Bianchi. By far my Turner was always the best riding bike and that had to be due to design.
Move to road bikes. Again I have been on many steel bikes to include lemond, Peugot, Bianchi. I have been on many aluminum bikes to include Canondale, Specialized, Giant (TCR). I have been on one Ti bike, a litespeed and I have been on several carbon bikes, including Kestrel Talon, Look KG-361. I always hear people say that carbon flex, however, my kestrel was probably stiffer than most aluminum frames yet dampened vibration very well. The monocoque design worked well. I liked the bike. I like the KG361 better, since it is a little more forgiving. My steel frames were all good and forgiving, but give up weight. The aluminum frames are good as well and usually are stiffer. I have no complaints about the TCR. It was fast and light and fairly confortable.
So in the end, the materials, design, and type of use are all factors if you plan to do some really serious riding, but picking just one factor will get you nothing. I find that I really don't know how much I will like a bike until I have been riding it for a month or so and have put at least several 40 mile plus rides on it. Then I can make a decision. Unfortunately, you have to buy it. Otherwise you can go ff of recommendations or reviews. The old adage, you get what you pay for is usually true to a point, barring price increase due to brand status.
