All things considered equal

[flyingporkpies]

I wonder if anyone can enlighten me on why 2 bicycles that appear to be the same can ride so differently? I have a 59cm Columbus SL Motorola Merckx Corsa. I also have a 59cm Reynolds 531 Professional Peugeot Anetto. They both have 58cm top tubes. I found I rode the Merckx more often, but couldn't work out why, so I went about making them equal.
So now both have san marco supercorsa saddles. Both have 120mm stems. Both have 3TTT Forma SL 44cm bars. One has Veloce and the other has Record (the exercise was becoming expensive!) but it's not about the component quality so much. The Peu has AC Hurricanes and the Merckx has Mavic Open Pros on Record hubs, so roughly similiar wheel weights.
On the scales the Peu is lighter (9.15 kilos with speedplays). The Peu has a 5mm longer headtube. Other than that they are equal.
The conclusion: The Merckx just feels better. Standing, sitting, it doesn't matter, I prefer it. It has more zip somehow.
So I have a Merckx Corsa Extra in the same size on it's way to replace the Peu and possibly relegate the Corsa to fixed. If anyone has ridden both Corsa and Corsa Extras I would appreciate a heads up on what to expect. Note: the extra is from around 87/88 and the corsa is from 91 if that makes any difference?? Cheers, flyingporkpies