[dd74]

I was on a group ride last week with a bunch of "privileged" cyclists on their multi-thousand dollar carbon this-and-that bikes. I was riding my Columbus steel-butted Colnago. Yes, I kept up with them with my 23-yr-old bike. But what really interested me was how lousy their bikes sounded with each bump or rut in the road that they hit. Their rigs sounded as if the frames were rattling apart, while mine didn't make a sound.

My end impression: steel and old-style 36-hole wheels (but with the newest and narrowest performance tires) will always give the best ride.