I've crossed off a lot of alternatives to the giant tough road:
Trek Checkpoint: Isospeed bothers some riders
Specialized Diverge: the omission of rack mounts is perplexing. I can workaround it, but there's no penalty for including them, so why not? Future Shock is probably great, but it's $600 more although this moves you up to 105 and future shock. Add at least another $500 for suspension seat post and hydraulic brakes.
Canyon Grail: innovative but way too expensive ($3K)
Cannondale: I'm in between sizes....
...etc.
I'm pretty sure I'll like the specialized geometry but I'm hoping I really like how the Giant rides. To get the specialized configured the way I want is double the price (hydraulic brakes, suspension seat post, new brifters).
Last edited by radroad; 02-06-19 at 02:04 AM.