[bigpicture]

> Steel is the best frame material for 95% of people due to its durability. Quality steel frames (not Schwinn travellers) are quite light.

I have a bike made with True Temper OX Platinum steel and it is my favorite bike by far. It is a very light frame, but that is not what I like about it. Steel (and titanium) frames can be made with tubing of a much smaller diameter than that of aluminum or carbon. I believe that the tube diameter (and associated stiffness) is what people are feeling when they talk about the difference between bikes.

If you make a steel bike with tubing that is indistinguishable from aluminum or carbon, I am not surprised that nobody can tell the difference!

[ubermonkey]

It seems like you might be discounting the different characteristics of the materials themselves, though.