I've been very happily riding two beautiful lugged steel bikes (one heavy-duty touring, one sport bike) for more than two decades. Both have many thousands of miles on them and with various upgrades and new paint jobs, they are still going strong. (Some original campy parts are still in place).
After considering Rivendell and Heron whom I have great respect for, I realize I'd like to add a truly modern road bike to the stable. I've got about $2000 to spend--maybe a little more. Just don't tell my wife. While steel has served me well, the bike can be of any material. The main things I'm looking for are a sporty (not necessarily racing) setup with some longevity built in. (As you can see from the first paragraph, I like to keep my bikes for a long time). I'll also want wide range gearing.
I've read enough about various combos of aluminum and carbon to be completely confused. I'm definitely not interested in a "throwaway bike." I'm at the beginning of my search and so far have been interested in the Specialized Roubaix and the suggestion of some at my LBS, one of the Orbea bikes from Spain (which some claim meet the "use for a few years and toss out" criteria).
Any thoughts on finding a good, lightweight bike for $2K or so that has the capability of serving for a decade or two--or is that just crazy?