I usually don't pay much attention to Bicycling when it arrives in the post - it was a magazine subscription bought by my wife for me in order to help my daughter's school. I did look through the bikes listed in the 2008 Buyer's Guide and did note a slight return to steel in some circles - "plush" bikes as they put it.
However, there was one line in answer to the question "Should I buy a carbon-fibre bike?" which I thought might - at least at a certain level - define most of us on this list:
"If you prize a smooth, refined ride feel, carbon can deliver --- but so can steel and titanium, both of which continue to advance as frame materials. Ultimately, you should decide based on what you're willing to spend and whether you're a carbon person. Did you stand in line to buy the iPhone? Carbon's cutting edge will appeal to you. But if you're restoring a 1952 MGTD in your garage, then a ti or steel bike from a small builder may be just right."
Apart from the suggestion that steel is continuing to make "advances" as a framing material is a bit of a bloody cheek IMHO (given that steel has been around a hell of a lot longer than any of the other materials) how many on the list have aspired to restore that old 1952 MG or equivalent in their garage - or at least a gorgeous Gloria like the one that is on ebay at present! Have we been defined in Bicycling?
Long live steel!
Paul Williams,
Ottawa, ON, Canada