I can't knock the Madone 4.5 cuz I have its predecessor which was the womens Lemond. I gotta give to Trek that's one friggin' comfy bike. It's carbon too. I think before you buy the carbon though you should go try a good quality steel frame cuz as strange as it may sound steel is extremely forgiving. It may also help the sell to hubby a little easier cuz they usually aren't as expensive and you can then get nicer components for the price. Worth a look see