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[jasimon]

It's time for a new bike and I know generally what I'm looking for, but wanted to get suggestions for bikes I should seek out. So, without much ado, my preferred specs:

"Endurance" geometry roadie (drop bar)
Carbon or composite frame (my all-aluminium Giant flat-bar leaves something to be desired in the shock absorption stakes)
105+ running gear
Budget 2-3K
Local purchase (Sydney - north shore) - don't want to pfaff about with mail-order and waranties and whatnot
Intended use is weekend group or solo rides

Which brands/models should I look into?

[Newcastle Dave]

Well, if it wasnt for the request for "Endurance" geometry roadie (drop bar)" I would have said go and try a Cell Omeo 2. Although the setup is pretty aggressive (I was a bit worried about it before I bought my Omeo), I havent actually found it to be a problem. Having said that, I do ride on teh hoods 90% of the time.

I know that would mean crossing the harbour, but for the money you get

Full aero carbon frame
Shimano DI2 Ultegra

I cant speak highly enough about my Omeo, upgraded for an alloy Giant Defy 2

I recently bought a cyclocross bike, nad very nearly went for the Cell Brunswick but ended up buying a Merida from a local store (I am in Newcastle). The two things that swayed me
1) I thought having one bike with SRAM and one with DI2 would get very confusing and I would end up stuffing up the changes (I am not the most co-ordinated guy around)
2) Distance between me and Cell's Sydney shop.

[rodneycc]

Yeah Reckon Dave has the right idea having a look in Cell first. The three bikes I would test ride from there are The Omeo 2, The Brunswick and also the Akuna. The Akuna has a lot of bang for its buck so especially look for that one.

Giant has just brought out its 2015 range and the new composite Defys have disc brakes which I think may well be the thing of the future for Recreation bike riding. So the Giant Defy Advanced (or Advanced Pro) might be a good option. Also the Cannondale Synapse (2014 onwards) and CAAD10 are all good options (the CAAD 10 is Alu but is still a great affordable package, Also he geo is kind of between Endurance and Race which I like a lot).

There are a lot of other great bikes in the 2-3k price bracket and if you are spending that much you can't go too far wrong to be honest. Just note the wheelsets on all these bikes aren't great so a really good option would be to buy at the lower end of the 2k mark and then buy a really nice set of wheels like some Campy Zonda's or Dura Ace C24's to go with it. Oh and if you can squeeze it in then probably something in 11 speed would be on the wish list like ultegra 6800 or the new 5800 105 (or even dura ace 9000 if you really want).

Good luck. Cheers Rod

Edit: I will leave it someone else to go over the Treks as I haven't had much experience with them but the Trek Domane is the other obvious option (the 5.2 is a great little unit as well if it doesn't fall out of the budget).

[jasimon]

Thanks for the suggestion - I'd forgotten about Cell. I'll put them on the list.

Keep them coming.

[Hillsaretheenemy]

Try this. I love my new Addict and I'm sure this would be nice too. Ultegra 6800 for 2.5K..
http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/a/road-b ... /102494037" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ross]

Avanti and Felt are two other brands that seem to be reasonbly priced.

[Xplora]

Trek Domane - endurance geometry, potentially the most forgiving ride you can buy Make sure you check it out, ESPECIALLY if you can snake one on the regular 20% off sales. A 3800 dollar Domane becomes a 3000 dollar Domane, and you get extremely good warranty support as well.

[Dirty32]

The obvious or most common ones readily available are probably the Giant Defy, Specialized Roubaix, Trek Domane, Scott Solace, Cannondale Synapse and maybe the Bianchi Infinito, depending on what your LBS' stock. A lot of other manufacturers will have something in the market, but are probably not as common.

I'm sure they are all at a similar level as far as performance, some might offer slightly better bang for your buck, again depending on what kinda deal you can get from your LBS'.

Some of them are starting to offer disk brake options or might have little technological benefits and features that apparently makes their bike the market leader. You should definitely be able to get onto something carbon, with the level of group set you are after and a decent entry level set of wheels for what you have available to spend.

You could take a look on gumtree or the classifieds on here for something slightly used, that may be higher spec than buying something new...

Take a look on here for a handy run down on some measurements for endurance geo bikes (post #8). Might get some ideas!
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=78228

[The_Eggman]

I went thru a similar decision recently, with a similar budget:

http://backoffalls.blogspot.com.au/2014 ... steed.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ended up with a Focus Cayo 4.0

I'd also have a look here:

http://www.bikeradar.com/au/road/news/a ... kes-38206/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Calvin27]

Disc or not?

[Drizt]

Always disc

[Mulger bill]

Always disc

QFAT!

[Calvin27]

Always disc

Man all these luddites recommending caliper models. If you're not doing full beach road type stuff go disc!

- Specialized Roubaix/Sectuer/diverge
- Giant defy advanced

[jasimon]

Discs? Really? Way of the future?

[Tzantushka]

Like Eggmann I went through the same exercise.
Except my budget was constrained to <$2k.
This leaves me with entry level carbon and 105.

Looked & rode:
Giant Defy 2015
Discs were appealing, but IIRC they're on skewers...
For long term ownership I'd prefer thru axles

Specialized Roubaix SL4 105 2014
Super comfy, probably too plush for me...
But only partial 105 grouppo

LaPierre Sensium
Ended up going for this as it felt just right
More sporty but still relaxed & full 105


Don't agonise too much on the interwebs - take them for a test ride.
Now is a good time to be looking as many places are running out the 2014 models.