brockga

I got a 2007 Bianchi Via Nirone tripple ultegra/105 on ebay for right at $900 shipped. I would definitely look for used. You will get a lot more bang for your buck.

Good Luck

SpaceNerd

This has been said before but a little repitition can't hurt. Try and ride something in your price range from every manufacturer sold in shops in your area. That way you have a good knowledge of how your options fit and feel. I had a slightly lower budget than you and rode the 1.2, specialized dolche, and a giant. I don't know what the mens versions of those bikes are called but I would at least try to ride bikes from the big three manufacturers sold in your area. For what it's worth I ended up with the 1.2 and I'm very happy with it. Don't let people convince you to buy something out of your price range either. You can get some perfectly good bikes in your price range for what you're going to use it for. Most importantly (again repetition) don't buy anything that doesn't fit because its cheap!

Paul Barnard

900 dollars buys a lot of bike. You should be able to get a new 105 level bike for that money. With some patient shopping around, you can probably score a great deal on a closeout, or an even better deal on a barely used bike. There is certainly some value to supporting your LBS, but if you can do some basic tuning and adjustment, the mail order market is great. If you know your clothing sizes, your money can go pretty far online as well. If you happen to go to Murfreesboro, walk into the Olympus gym and smack the owner on the head for me. Don't let his size fool you, he's a teddy bear.

Randallissimo

Bianchi Brava steel is pretty nice for about $900

binstpa

I was in a similar position to yours about 6 weeks ago. Many of my LBS were having sales on some 08 models. I debated between a Scott Speedster S20, Felt F75, Cannondale CAAD9, Specialized Allez, and Trek 1.2.

In the end I ended up with the Felt F75 and love it. I have put almost 300 miles on it over the past six weeks and have not had any problems. This is my first road bike so I am not too sensitive to the various differences in the bikes. None of the above bikes really wowed me, but the Felt had Ultegra/105 components and was comfortable to ride. Although I am not a competitive cyclist, the Felt seemed to me best suited to allow me to do century rides and also try my hand at sprint and olympic distance marathons without being at too distinct an equipment advantage.

cparekh

I think the Felt F series and the Scott Speedster series offer very good value, in that they are high quality frames with top-level components for slightly less than the bigger names like Specialzied and Trek. I have been very happy with my Scott Speedster S40.

JakcBeNimble

Adding to the steel love. I built a bike over the summer on a Kona ***** Tonk frame (use to be frame+fork only, now is available as a complete bike), and I can't say enough good things about it for daily use.

I'm not advocating the ***** Tonk complete bike in particular, but its just another opinion that if you find a quality steel framed bike in your price range (that fits of course) try it out for a comparison.