Quote Originally Posted by Sardine View Post
While the Specialized was more comfortable, it also felt less lively which in my view weighed against it despite having the best looks too.
Wow! I had the exact same impression when I was test riding. There was a Specialized test ride event and I test rode two of their bikes, for ~10 min each, a Ruby and a Tarmac something or the other... I was a plush ride, but not responsive. I found it hard to accelerate on them.