My experience (for what it's worth)

Bought one of these last year User Posted Link
My first foray into seriousish road biking having been mainly into offroad stuff before. Had a specialized MTB so i'm kinda biased towards them but this has proved to be a little gem. I did a few of the climbs covered by the Tour de France last year and it was comfy and capable on rides of 50 miles plus. Also done sportives in the peak district and it coped fine with the s**tty roads and weather. The missus has got the model above it and says it's great too - carbon forks as opposed to an all alloy jobby like this one.

You might find something with carbon forks at your price point but will more likely be all alloy. Not really an issue and you're less likely to be precious about it! Mine's got basic shimano 2300 groupset - the new sora's (the next one up) have been upgraded this year and have the double tap shifters so that might be something to look at.

Got mine from Borwell's on Spencer Street - good after sales service and friendly guys but mainly stock specialized. Heard good things about Streetlife and Pedal Revolution too. Just make sure you get it fitted properly otherwise you might find you get a few niggly pains after longer rides!

Posted By: AllezLesJaunes, Mar 11, 16:32:01