New Road Bike Budget$1.5-$2k suggestions?

[fzl769]

Hi all,

I have been very interested in road cycling for a long time and now I am considering making a purchase. Even though it is my first bike, I do not want to be spending $1k for an entry level bike that will be replaced quickly once I ride it for a while so I am looking for the best options straight up, my budget is around $1500-$2000.

Primarily, hoping to use it for commuting to uni, and the odd weekend ride with some of my other friends once I get fitness level up to a higher standard.

What sort of things should I be looking for?
Carbon or aluminium? At least 105s or should I be looking to get ultegra in this price range?

Current bikes I am considering are the Giant Defy Composites, Boardman Team (Carbon) and a Ridley Orion on sale at $1.5k on wiggle.com.au

Does anyone have any recommendations or insights into these bikes or other ones I should be looking for?

I know that whichever one I need, I'll have to get a good fit etc etc. And I will not be doing any racing in the near to distant future, so comfort is better than extreme speed

Thanks in advance!
Frank

[antipodean]

No idea what size you need but here are a few.

http://www.bikes.com.au/p/7124018/2012- ... bike-.html
http://www.bikes.com.au/p/5215786/2012- ... orion.html
http://www.cyclingexpress.com/cycle/cle ... -bike.aspx
http://www.cyclingexpress.com/cycle/bik ... e-blk.aspx
http://www.cyclingexpress.com/cycle/bik ... white.aspx

[Philipthelam]

If you want a good deal I'd recommend you to buy discounted 2012 models. You can get something really good for that price. Anyway most entry level road bikes at $1k are actually very good which judging by what you are going to use the bike for, I don't think you will replace it quickly. Reason I say this is that other than the bike you still have to buy tons of accessories/ other stuff that might end up equalling the price of the bike. I'd also recommend to buy from a LBS as opposed to wiggle because then you can get a proper bike fit (most LBS do bike fitting for free if you buy from them) and also if anything goes wrong or needs adjusting you can easily take it back to them for help. With your price range you could probably get a bike with Ultegra but just remember to judge the bike as a whole and not just on its groupset.