I will quite possibly be purchasing a new road bike very soon. I am a collegiate racer, so I'm looking for something light and fast. My price range is ~$1,500 for the frame and fork. At the moment, I have my eye on:
Specialized Roubaix
Orbea Lobular
Merckx Leader
Pinarello Galileo
Giant TCR
Specialized E5
So far I'm leaning towards the Roubaix and the Lobular. I know the Roubaix is seen as stiff yet comfortable. The only complaint I've heard is slow handling, which could be remedied by getting a 43 mm offset Reynolds/LOOK/Alpha Q fork to replace the 49 mm offset Specialized fork. For the Orbea, I really wanted the Euskatel team bike, but it is out of my price range. According to Orbea, the Lobular is basically the same bike, but only slightly heavier, due to more "muscular" tubing.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, even if it's not a bike on the list. My biggest criteria are that it is stiff in the bottom bracket area, reasonably light, and handles well.
Specialized Roubaix
Orbea Lobular
Merckx Leader
Pinarello Galileo
Giant TCR
Specialized E5
So far I'm leaning towards the Roubaix and the Lobular. I know the Roubaix is seen as stiff yet comfortable. The only complaint I've heard is slow handling, which could be remedied by getting a 43 mm offset Reynolds/LOOK/Alpha Q fork to replace the 49 mm offset Specialized fork. For the Orbea, I really wanted the Euskatel team bike, but it is out of my price range. According to Orbea, the Lobular is basically the same bike, but only slightly heavier, due to more "muscular" tubing.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated, even if it's not a bike on the list. My biggest criteria are that it is stiff in the bottom bracket area, reasonably light, and handles well.