Originally Posted by
Slaninar
Frame geometry influences ride characteristics a lot more than the material.
Tubing diameters and design influence ride characteristics a lot more than the material.
Carbon is the best in terms of allowing producers to make ride characteristics exactly as they plan, but they don't always put the effort to make use of that opportunity, not on cheaper frames that come with bikes under 1000$. The same goes for metal frames in lower price category.
Tyre width influences ride comfort a lot more than frame material, frame geometry and tubing design.
Tyre quality influences ride comfort almost as much as tyre width does. This means a subtle, quality tyre will provide a more comfortable ride than a wider, but poor quality tyre. Of course, wide + high quality is even more comfortable.
Choose a bike that you like best when test riding.
I agree with a lot of what you wrote, except the bolded part.
I went from a all aluminum touring bike (including the fork) with 35c tires, to a well designed aluminum + carbon front fork road bike with 25c tires, and the bike with smaller tires is actually far more comfortable in eliminating road buzz as I ride. Despite the smaller tire size it's actually more comfortable in handling the lip where sidewalks dip down but don't quite come all the way down (there are a few small stretches where it would be illegal / insane to ride on the road and the sidewalk is built for bikes to get between more rideable sections for me).
It's ancedotal, but in my experience a decent carbon fork has always been worth the cost vs an aluminum/steel one, whereas a full carbon frame often is not worth the increase in cost depending on your finances. I have to go to a larger tire than 35c to get the benefits a carbon fork would otherwise get me. Again, in my experience.