Frannie is a 2019 Salsa Vaya.

Steel frame with a Shimano 105 drivetrain. We roll tubeless. She typically hauls between 20 and 40 pounds of gear depending on the season. I used to ride carbon, but once I hit my 40s every ride started to hurt a little more, so I moved to steel. Unloaded, the frame weighs about 19 lbs, but it handles smooth as silk.
I would spend 8 hours a day on this thing if I didn’t have a job.

Dat azzzz


Not OP, but I know why carbon hurts (and why it’s useful!):
Carbon is stiffer than steel. That does a lot of stuff, but two things primarily - one good, one bad.
Good: the force you put into the pedals bends a steel frame more than it does a carbon frame. Every bit of force used to bend the frame is force that doesn’t get used to push you forwards, so a stiff carbon frame is a lot faster than a bendy steel one.
Bad: the force from the road works the same way as the force from your pedals: it also gets reduced with a bendier frame, and a stiff frame will take every bump and crack in the tarmac and put that force right into your taint.
I’m blown away that there’s a difference and a notable one at that. Thanks for the info!