So - two years and three months late:Has anybody switched to a heavy steel bike and not minded the difference?
Do you spend the time and money it costs to go lighter on components on a recreation bike?
1. No. I switched from a heavy aluminum bike (old Cannondale Scalpel) to a couple of light-weight carbon bikes (Salsa Mukluk but plus tires in place of fats, and a Salsa Cutthroat) and loved the difference!
2. Yes, I spend time and money to get the lightest recreational bike I can. I do long, remote exploratory rides and often end up with several miles of hike-a-bike where I'm carrying the bike across terrain I can't ride (Danny MacAskill could ride it, but I can't). It doesn't take long carrying a bike over saddles to reach a rideable wash, lifting them over fences or locked gates, across the Rio Grande, through choked up vegetation, or whatever to appreciate the lightest bike possible.
However, if I couldn't afford to get something light, I'd ride whatever I could get. The most important thing to do is to ride (under your own power of course!).
Howard