One of my best riding bikes is an old 89 Team Miyata with steel forks. I took it on a 200k last weekend and noticed how the lightweight steel forks really soaked up the bumps in the road compared to much stiffer carbon forks on some of my other bikes. My one disk brake bike is a steel touring bike with steel forks, and they don't soak up the bumps nearly the same way the forks on the old race bike do. I assume because they a built beefier to support a load and the disks. The net-net is that there are lots of other factors that make a bigger difference than material. Not a new insight by any means. I was just reminded of it last weekend.