New road bike- how much bike should I buy?

[anakiwa]

Ace-

First off fit is the most important thing (and it's worth spending money on).

As far as whether to spend the full $3000 now, versus buy an entry level bike now and spend more in a year or two- you can argue it either way. If you fall in love with a $3000 bike and are convinced it's the bike for you- go for it. On the other hand it might make sense to ride something cheaper for a year first (which will allow you to figure out what you really do and don't want in a bike- and when you do get to buy your dream bike you'll really know what you want).

I have a Serotta Coeur d'Acier that's designed as a tri bike and am in the process of buying a Serotta Concours road bike. I'm therefore probably a little biased, but I think a custom bike has a lot to offer. (My current Trek road bike is a really nice bike, but the fit is just not quite right.) I suspect it might be hard to keep the price under $3000 though. The stock Serotta bikes would be a little less expensive (and if you have a decent Serotta fitter they'd be able to tell you if you can fit one of the sizes or if you'd do better with custom or something else).

Good luck!

[KayTee]

I have to agree with the last few posters. Custom bikes can be reasonably priced or ridiculously expensive, depending on frame material and fabricator, and would certainly fit into your budget. At this point in my own cycling life, I'd go for custom frame only and whatever components I can best afford (or re-use), then upgrade the latter if necessary. I rode various stock bikes for 6 years before springing for a custom steel Independent Fabrication Crown Jewel earlier this year. It's been worth every penny.