Trying to adjust to a road bike

[VeloVT]

Since touring bikes have been mentioned...

You might consider looking at some cyclocross bikes as well. It sounds like you're looking at bikes that are spec'd better than most cx bikes, but might be some options out there for you (Trek XO2? Bianchi Cross Concept? There aren't many carbon cross frames out there, if you have your heart set on carbon -- Ridley might make some?). CX bikes typically have a more relaxed geometry than road bikes (bars typically end up close to level with seat). They also have clearance for wide tires, although you can certainly run skinny racing tires on them. Some cx bikes come drilled with rack bosses for touring too, although these tend to be the lower end cx bikes -- bikes that are marketed more as a touring/utility bike and less as a cx racing bike. One thing to be aware of is that some lower end cx bikes can be relatively heavy, but the higher end bikes are comparable to midrange road bikes (18lbs). You probably won't find many super light, 16lb cx bikes, if that's important to you...

just a thought...

one other thing to be aware of is that most stock cx bikes come with some variation of lower-than-standard-roadbike gearing. this may or may not be appropriate for the riding you want to do.

ETA: Ahh, Ridley DOES make a carbon cross bike. Pricey, but what a sexy frameset!

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...RODUCT.ID=3298

that's a light frame too. And there's one that's a little less pricey:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...RODUCT.ID=4783