guadzilla

The Great Fleet Rehaul continues. So my main road bike stable is down to 2 now - the Venge and the R5, and am looking for a relatively inexpensive rain/beater bike to replace my Lynskey, which I am selling (while it is amazingly comfortable, it isnt the most exciting of rides and i want to go all-disc with all my bikes except the TT/tri bike).

While it is going to be a rain/beater bike, i do want a ride that is more lively/responsive than my Lynskey, but smooth enough to take on trips where i may be riding on bad roads, etc. Ability to take up to 32c tires would be great as well. I dont plan to ride on gravel but i do plan to take it for trips where we'll be doing long, exploratory rides and possibly come across bad tarmac (eg, Uzbekistan in April).
It needs to have disc brakes and compatibility with internal Di2 cabling would be nice. And under $1500 for a frameset - even less, if possible.

- The CAAD13 is obviously a leading candidate. The frameset color sucks something bad, but i have access to a good painter, and am ok to get the frame re-painted
- The Allez Sprint is out as i have doubts about its comfort for longer rides and over poorer roads.
- Emonda - no clue what to expect. My first road bike was a Trek 1.2, and off memory, it was a decent-if-unspectacular ride.
- BMC Teamachine ALR [not Roadmachine, as original posted] - also used to own a BMC Streetfire and liked it a lot more than the Trek.
- Ritchey Breakaway - used to own one as well, sold it and kinda regret it. The ability to pack easily for travel is a big attraction, i have to say.
- Domane SL. Costs a bit more than the rest, is carbon (which goes against the "beater" mindset) and I suspect it might be a couch-on-wheels kinda snoozefest to ride, but other than that, it sounds great
- Roubaix: Inclined against it for no other reason than the fact that I have a Venge and a Shiv, my wife has a Shiv and is gonna get a Tarmac. That's far too many Spesh bikes in one house
- Canyon AL: know nothing about the bike or how it rides

Anyone have any feedback on any of these bikes, or suggestions for other options i should consider (no special orders or customs, or really small brands - would prefer to find something i can find readily in one of the major Asian cities).

TIA!

topflightpro

I like the idea of the Ritchey, but it's steel, which doesn't make for a great rain bike.

EDIT: I guess there is now a carbon version, but that is about double your budget.

bpcyclist

I can vouch for the Roadmachine, but I would hardly term it a beater bike. I also am not sure how it would fit into your budget, but maybe you can find a deal somewhere.

guadzilla

Sorry, I got my machines mixed up - I meant Teammachine ALR. Will edit my post accordingly

guadzilla

Yeah, the carbon one is way too expensive. And off memory, the Ritchey wasnt the most responsive of rides - I suspect that is true of most CroMoly and that i would need to spend more for the higher-end tubing to get the ride quality i am looking for.

I keep coming back to the CAAD13, actually - which wouldnt be a bad thing at all. My only concern there - BB30 + rain bike = bad combo. Although perhaps the Al bottom bracket is less likely to creak?