QuakerProf

I'm in the market for my first road bike after four years of commuting and doing a couple of charity rides per year (25 miles to 60 miles) on a 2011 Kona Dr. Fine. The Kona is nice for the commute: aluminum frame with carbon fork, running 32 Marathons at 80psi, Shimano Alfine IGH lets me change gears at a dead stop, very upright position lets me be seen by cars. In the future, I want to keep that bike for commuting, but buy a road bike to have a better time on the 25 mile to 60 mile rides and train to do one or two century rides per year. I don't intend to do races or crits or the like; I just ride for fitness and socializing and I'm not a competitive personality.

My ideal budget would be 1,000, but that needs to include shoes b/c I use platform pedals on my commuter. For a road bike, I've been looking primarily at endurance road bikes b/c the geometry suits me better, and even then I would be likely to make some changes to reduce the reach. I just don't feel comfortable on long rides if I'm trying to hold my head up and scrunching my neck, and I can't roll my eyes forward well to keep my head down because it puts me over the top of my glasses and I'm pretty blind without them. So, I've been looking primarily at the Cannondale Synapse 105 Disc (don't care about the disc brakes, but I want the 105 set), which I can get for the mid-1200s after cash back at REI (15% if I use my REI Visa). So, it's definitely pushing my budget and I wouldn't be able to go a further 100 for a professional fitting on the bike, would just have to work on it with the know-littles at REI and my own tweaks.

However, I found a 2005 Specialized Roubaix Elite on Craigslist that already has a 30 degree stem swapped in that I think I can get for 700, which is in the right range according to Blue Book. It's a carbon frame, and the price difference would let me buy shoes and get a professional fitting and still be under budget.

So: 1) Which would you do?
2) Is 10 years too old for the Roubaix to last me 7 or 8 years without big replacements?
3) Are there screamingly obvious alternatives that would not stretch my budget beyond the Synapse?

Thanks very much!

rpenmanparker 

Successful self-fitting is by far the most common experience among cyclists. As long as you know what size frame you take, the rest can be managed with a little time and a little money for replacement components. Of course the used ones can be sold on ebay. Read up on the subject and go for the new bike. Don't cut your fork too short to allow for stem height adjustment. You won't be sorry.