Welcome and I can maybe speak to your question, as I have a carbon Trek Silque and a custom Ti Guru (which are not made anymore). I like them both. The feel of the ti is smooth in a different way than carbon, and really not heavy at all. I think my ti bike weighs 2 lbs. more than the carbon. Maybe less. I just don't notice a lot of difference. I mostly ride the carbon bike, though, but it has nothing to do with the material, it's the geometry. At the time I had the custom bike made, there weren't any relaxed geometry carbon WSD road bikes. My ti bike is only 6 years old, but a lot has changed in the bike industry in those 6 years. I got a new carbon bike at the end of 2014 and it is just better fitted for me. However, whenever I finally get on my ti bike, I always say "this feels so nice." I ride a lot of hills, too, and it does well on the hills. I have really low gearing on that bike, though.