First Road Bike around $700-900

[gummyworms]

Hi everyone, really new here and hoping some of you can help me out.

I'm looking to buy myself a new road bike that'll be used mostly for fitness; riding along bike paths and at a local velodrome.

I've done some looking online and I think I am fairly out of my depth haha
Not sure what makes a good bike, especially around my budget of around $700 to an absolute maximum of $900 unless one of you can really convince me otherwise :p

I'm not sure whether to go for a flat bar or drop bar bike. The drop bars do look awesome and I've read they can be quite practical by providing for multiple hand positions. Feedback is definitely needed here.

Also to note I do have a huge preference/want for disc brakes as it is what I'm used to.

In my research I have found this https://www.reidcycles.com.au/vantage-e ... -disc.html
Can I get any opinions on this? To my inexperienced eye it looks pretty good for the price.

Any help would be massively appreciated. Thanks

[rodneycc]

Try and stump up the extra cash and grab a Vantage 2.0 I reckon. Looks a much better spec on paper and well worth the extra few hundred I reckon. Otherwise I think you would be crazy going the Vantage 1.0 over say the Falco Advanced which is $50 cheaper with a better spec just because of the disc brakes...

[Hastingd]

I got a Reid Granite earlier this year and for what it's worth, find it a great bike for a first roady. Having said that, I would have had no hesitation in spending the extra for the Vantage 2 if it was available at the time.
I think you should try one, and test the dealer to see what you can get it for.....

[gummyworms]

Thanks for the responses, think I'll just wait another month and get the 2.0. Quite a bit above my ideal spend but since this'll last me at least a few years I'm sure it'll be a good decision.

Did some reading on the Shimano 105 gearset and sounds like it's pretty awesome so will be worth the wait hopefully.

Just a shame about the colour as the white really appealed to me haha but it'll have to be blue :p