Is an Aluminum Bike Much Easier to Peddle?

it’d probably sell more quickly in the right market…

This is an easy one. Let’s do the math Let’s make some assumptions and you can change the numbers accordingly.
Now let’s say you weigh 125 pounds and your raleigh weighs 30 pounds. Therefore the total is 155 pounds
The aluminum bike weighs 25 pounds. Total = 150 pounds. Going uphill the difference in work is 5/155 = 3.2%. Is that a big difference? For long distance or for a competitor, Yes. For a person who just cruises occasionally, No.
The purists would kill to get even a 1% advantage over their competition. They are also willing to pay thousands of dollars for it. Are you?

Depends on gearing and weight. The aluminum bike weighs less most likely so it has the advantage if gearing is constant. A bike that you can downshift to gain more torque going up a hill will be easier to pedal than a single speed bike like a cruiser. The difference in weight between a vintage cruiser bike and an aluminum bike can be substantial, more than just 5 pounds I would think. Heck the weight difference between my cruiser and a low-end mountain bike is significant.

The only way that you could see a difference would be if it was a Carbon Fiber Bike !

@Pretty_Lilly

Beg to differ, based on personal experience. There is a stark difference in the ease of pedaling and energy you exert going up a hill when you compare a $60 Wal-Mart mountain bike to a $250 mountain bike. There is an even bigger difference between riding a single-speed vintage cruiser with thick steel tubing to the modern $250 thin tube mountain bike. Trust me. There is a difference. And it is far from negligible.

@lilikoi * I have noticed that you love to argue !!
Well ,,maybe to you it does !!
Last week I propped my 60 lbs niece on my mountain bike and powered up a hill near my home,,,,,I hardly felt a difference ! I guess cuz I’m in shape !