Originally Posted by
Bacciagalupe
What's your budget?
Not to exceed US$3000.00 including saddle, grips, pedals or any other upgrades.
Originally Posted by
Bacciagalupe
How aggressive of a rider position do you want or can you handle? Do you prefer to sit upright or are you willing to work with a lower position?
I am not a big fan of aggressive road bike position. It is not comfy, it compromises my field of vision and most of my rides will not be performance oriented. I believe a flat bar road geometry or a large frame mountain bike geometry will go well.
Originally Posted by
Bacciagalupe
Are you planning to tour in 3rd world areas, or are you going back and forth to a specific location?
Predominantly specific location, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, to be more specific). No touring outside Florida, USA.
Originally Posted by
Bacciagalupe
Have you actually used either bar-ends or drop bars?
I used both, not a big fan of drop bars, but used bar ends a lot on my semi-pro adventure racing career back in the late 90s.