Perhaps this is an odd or impossible request at this stage of road bike development, but it has been a long time since I bought one, and I'm not (yet) a fan of disc brakes. I just think they're unnecessary and actually distracting/heavy/troublesome for what they provide, and I never really bought into why they were important for road biking. Maybe I'm an old fogey at this point.
I'm wanting to treat myself to an upgraded bike after so long on the old beater. So I would like to enjoy something relatively light, but I'm not going to quibble about ounces. And, I am coming around to wanting Ultegra Di2 or the equivalent (which I am inexperienced as to what the equivalent is from SRAM etc, again, I'm new to buying for a long time). It adds $1000 to everything, but I suppose I should allow myself that indulgence at this point. (I already know Ultegra well, just not the electronic shifting aspect).
I did see that Ultegra Di2 has proprietary charging hardware which is less than ideal, but not a dealbreaker. Not caring too much about wired vs. wireless.
I just want to find a set of good value, light weight, road bikes / brands to consider buying, and am also indifferent to frame material (or at least, not a believer that the material is the main thing).
I looked at:
- Litespeed because you can still buy a rim brake + Ultegra Di2 bike from them.
- Ribble on someone's recommendation about how nice the ride felt, but being from the UK their prices are immediately inflated.
- A Specialized Roubaix Expert Di2 that I've got my eye on, but it has the disc brakes.
Are there other brands/models that you might suggest I consider? Clearly I'm thinking about / comfortable with the $3500-4500 range. More than that seems crazy to me. Again, I'm getting my feet wet again after 15 years of not having bought a bike...
I am even open to buying a good condition used bike with the right hardware.
Thanks!