Dogmama wrote.."I ride a steel bike & I love it. It is custom, so the fit is perfect BUT I find that the road feel is superior, the cornering is more precise and it will bend before it breaks. The new steel is lightweight and responsive. I haven't heard that steel is out of fashion."

me too, me too! steel is real. People are shocked when they lift my bike and then find out it's steel, it's so light. But then when I heft 150+ lbs of me on top of it...I figure i can't be a real gram counter till i can't take 20% of the weight off the rider.

On the AIDS ride i was shocked to look at the speed I had cornering and downhills, it was so precise I thought I was going much slower (woah there nelly!). Nothing rides like custom fit steel.

Back to the weight, I read somewhere that the frame is less than a fifth the weight of the bike so take a well made steel frame with top components you have a very light ride.

Components - I ride Record but used to ride Ultegra. both have their good points. I miss my flightdeck which is not compatible with Campy. I have very small hands even for 5'1" and no problems with the Campy. My hands did get tired on loooong downhills but that's conditioning I gotta do.