I have some chip seal roads around me... and they're absolutely miserable on an aluminum frame, even if I've got a carbon fork & gel padding on the handlebars... it just ends up hurting my wrists and having them go numb, and then not being able to ride for a week while I tried to let them recover. In my experience carbon fiber seat stays and switching to a carbon fiber handlebar does make a huge difference...

So now I tend to avoid the chip sealed roads (which is annoying 'cause it was one of my favorite roads previous to the chip sealing)....

However, I did invest (well, craigslist invest) in a full carbon frame, carbon fiber wheels, and handlebars... I went down the chip seal road yesterday, and all my carbon fiber absorbed the annoyance of the chipseal... It was noisier, but my wrists didn't suffer for it.

The carbon fiber frame I bought off craigslist, is actually an effective 54 cm, but I'm pretty much using it as a more upright ride... It had a 46" seattube, and about a 540 mm top tube... so it's a longer top tube than my other bike, so I guess it stretches me out a bit more... but I'd say my seat is about even with the height of my handlebars.

I also love how stiff/responsive the bike is... I'm in no way a racer...