Originally Posted by
kingston
I always recommend an aluminum frame as a starter bike because its cheaper and almost as good as other materials, but nobody aspires to own an aluminum bike. They settle for it.
When I was a kid, one of the older kids had a blue Cannondale, imported from the States. The big tubes and 105 groupset and cool blue paint job and, a couple of years later, Mario Cipollini, all made me want an aluminium bike. And now, years later, I own 2. (and a couple of steel ones).
I absolutely love my CAAD10. I tried cf bikes and steel bikes while shopping for it, but no other frame had the bang-for-buck that my CAAD had.
I feel no desire to ever buy a road bike again. The next bike I buy will be an offroad machine of some capacity. It will, most likely, be aluminium.