Any Difference??

Pottsie said:

On an entry level bike, is there any difference between aluminum frame and carbon fork , carbon stay models from Specialized, Trek, Devinci etc..?? Or are they pretty much equal?

At the entry level (or higher level for that matter), there won't be much difference in performance a given price point. Every good model pretty much comes with carbon forks now, and on a weight/performance basis, there isn't much reason to go otherwise. Carbon stays may or may not add much to the ride quality. As has been discussed here and elsewhere, ride quality is affected by frame design and construction methods as much as materials. A frame with carbon stays could ride much harsher than a full aluminum stayed bike.

For an entry level bike, I would focus on finding a bike that fits well, comes with good shop support (very helpful for the beginner), and that looks good to you. There is very little substantively different between the large brands at a given pricepoint.

Most frames at that level come out of the same factory in Taiwan just rebadged based on which company is running the lot order that week. Carbon stays are nice, but today's all AL frames ride just as sweet as full carbon bikes unlike back in the day. Try to get the best frame you can afford. Individual components can be replaced and the performance between one groupset and another is often minimal.