Mountain roads would be great. I’m not talking about climbing issues. I’m talking about stop lights, dfw drivers, roadies in group rides, poor road conditions. To each his own, but the guys I see riding on tri bikes on the road spend little time in their aerobars. Tri bikes are meant for one thing--to go fast.....that just isn't conducive to many types of riding conditions.

I really do not have a significant ranking between them. But, this is how I would cluster them (into 3 groupings). I have major man love for Pinarello in general. And, all things being equal, I absolutely love the way that the Tarmac and Venge look. The Madone is also very hot looking. As far as carbon design and quality, they are not that different. My lists below are in no priority order, because buying used on a budget, they are functionally the same. Focus on age, condition, and groupset. Get 11 speed if you can, because that helps with a lot of other upgrade compatibility.

Aero Road Bikes

• Specialized Venge
• Felt AR
• Trek Madone
• Cervelo S
• BMC Timemachine Road
• Orbea Orca Aero
• Pinarello Gan
• Bianchi Aria

Traditional Road Bikes

• Cervelo R
• Specialized Tarmac
• Felt FR
• Orbea Orca M
• BMC Teammachine SLR
• Eddy Merckx EMX

Specialty Road Bikes

• Specialized Roubaix

Awesome! Thanks for this reply.

I am definitely looking for 11 speed Shimano 105 as the minimum for groupset.

For sure, this. I only get on the aerobars in specific places where I KNOW its safe. My point was spcifically about my comfort OUT OF AERO using the basebar the same as the hoods/drops of a road bike. My only point about mountain roads was with regards to handling while descending.

Also, I'm east of McKinney, TX in rural Collin County---So, I only have two stoplights in my entire riding domain---I can easily ride 100 miles from my front door with nary a stopsign. Maybe if I were in the city I'd feel different, I kinda doubt it though. I have a few routes that take be through mcKinney/allen...and it's never occured to me.

The only thing that I ever note, is that shifting is a minor nuisance from the basebar. But my TT is 1X, so that's still very minor.

Also, I don't do group rides...to much of a timesuck.

As you say, to each their own. Maybe my use case is somewhat unique.

Since the Felt AR was mentioned above, at a race my sister and I did a few years ago, she was the overall winner at the Sprint distance on a rented Felt AR5. We put some clip ons on and she was good to go. I'm not very knowledgeable on road bikes but I remember being impressed with that bike and you should be able to find a good used within your budget. As I said before though, save some budget for some other needed "speed" accessories.....good shoes, wetsuit, helmet, etc.

Not trying to confuse the issue further, but I never found the "extra gears" to be all that big of a deal, and if you're shopping for used bikes, you can sometimes score a great deal on a bike set up with an older groupset.

If you can get a 9-speed Dura Ace bike for a couple hundred less than a comparable 11-speed 105 bike, I'd say it's worth a hard look, and the year to year differences in frames are usually marginal, at best...mostly colors and graphics. Miles and maintenance are far more important than the age of a bike. I've had a few Cervelo P2s and a pair of Felt S32 over the years, and the geometry and aero qualities are comparable over a WIDE range of model years, even between the aluminum and carbon bikes...mostly the components, colors, and graphics distinguish them year to year (although Cervelo did a big remodel to the P2 at 2 points; going from AL to Carbon and again a few years later, but I digress).

I did my first Sprints and Olympics on an old QR Kilo with 8-speed Ultegra 600, it served me very well. Eventually I wound up with a few bikes and standardized them all to Ultegra or Dura Ace 9-speed. Over the last few months, I "upgraded" them all to DA and Ultegra (and a few Campy...Italian bikes need Italian gears, right?) 10-speed, mostly because it made switching wheels easier and less messy.

Then I tripped and fell on a couple fantastic deals...a Wilier Cento Uno with 11-speed Super Record, and a Wilier Jareen gravel bike with 11-speed Ultegra/105 mix...love me some Italian bikes, lol.

I just don't see the big deal about extra gears. There are some benefits, but some disadvantages as well. I live in a mostly flat area, but the majority of my events are on some pretty tough hills. If you're running maybe a huge cassette...11-28+ or something like that...more gears might mean more gradual gear changes, but in my experience, it's a nice feature, but not worth a considerable extra investment, especially for a newer rider on a budget.

A Shimano 105 R7000 11-speed group is about $470 with free shipping. Pretty budget friendly.

Would you be interested in a new bike?

It really all depends on pricing for me. Trying to get the most bang for my buck as most people are but especially since I'm just starting out. I'm not looking to come in first at Kona but I don't want something that's going to really hinder me in turning in a decent performance.

My 02¢ is that it is not as much about the actual additional gears as it is general compatibility and improvement. Having 11 speed in general makes drivetrain-related upgrades a whole lot easier. And, Shimano made some massive improvements around cable routing and shifter performance with the 11 speed groupsets, especially on the road bike components.

No disagreement, the 11 speed 105 group shifts very well. I haven't had it long enough to be able to speak to durability, but based on past experience, I'd be willing to bet it's every bit as high quality as the groups that preceeded it.

My point was just that if the OP is considering used bikes...which I would highly recommend for anyone on a budget, people practically GIVE away great stuff...limiting yourself to a specific groupset might cause you to overlook some really nice options.

You never know what'll show up in the classifieds, but the more you limit your choices, the more you'll either pay, or wait for the right deal to come along. Very few of us will ever be limited by the equipment we use, as long as it meets some minimum standards.