i take it you don't have a bike, or, a road bike, for the highway. and that's what you're getting. and you're not interested in a triathlon bike, per se, rather an all around bike that's specifically for the road.
it's kind of technical, but, there is an article here specifically talking about people just like you, just your height, for the kind of bike you're asking about. the issues this article discusses are not price specific. they're the same issues regardless of whether it's a $1200 bike or a $12,000 bike. and, in fact, felt's bikes address this problem quite nicely.
the article is
here. if you want, read that article and post back.
it could be that the shop you went to also carries scott bicycles. those are also a good geometric option, or at least they can be, for someone your height. it could be that down the street 5 or 10 miles is a shop that actually does carry felt bicycles, and i know that they are a good geometric option for you.
so, i would look at the felt F series bikes, i would look at scott's bikes, and i would post back here what you came up with as options.
i would like you to do something else. i want to know what your saddle height is. your correct saddle height. and i want to know it from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the saddle, midway between the nose and the tail. have the bike shop person tell you this, based on you getting on a bike, on a trainer, in the store.
finally, if there's a bike that you think you might like, i want the bike shop person to put that bike on a trainer, and have you get aboard it and ride it in the shop on the trainer, and see if you find it comfortable. i want you to think about whether the saddle's comfortable, the handlebars, and so forth. whether you're too stretched out when you reach for the handlebars.
just post back here and let me know what you find out about these bikes. this isn't so you can get your money's worth. it's so you can be on a bike that you'll enjoy. i'll have several more questions to ask you, and that you should ask the bike shop person, before you buy anything.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman