I was considering The GT series 3 a few years ago. I read quite a few positive reviews about it. It was also the previous year's model on sale for $650 and the last one in my size. While I was reading reviews, someone else bought the bike. $890 isn't such a deep price cut though. I think REI will do another round of discounts sometime in December. If course, you'll run the risk that someone else will buy your bike, but it might be worth waiting for. Don't lock yourself into REI either, they rarely have the best deals in town. There is no reason you can't get last years model aluminum/Tiagra road bike for less than $890.