The benefit of riding a carbon fiber bike go way beyond any bonuses it allows athletes in pro events. Straddling a piece of the highest quality technology, whizzing down a mountain trail or humping through a steep hill section in your first road race, a gives you the benefit - mentally and physically and helps you turn from being an amateur to cycling like a professional.
Like anything, there are products that stand head and shoulders above the others. They may be older bikes known for their age old reliability or bikes that feature the most recent future designs and technology, the world of cycling is the same and features some models of bike that MUST be ridden to appreciate them. Thumbing through the specification in a magazine is ok, but actually riding them is completely better.
Products previously bought from this site:
trek+5.9+madone+aero
,