Hi,
I plan to buy my first road bike (so far I've been riding a spec tricross with road tires). I can get for very similar price the Trek Madone 2.3 or Madone 3.1:
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...1_h2_compact/#
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...3_h2_compact/#
The first one is on an alu frame, while the second is carbon. On the other hand, the 2.3 seems to be slightly better spec'ed. In your opinion: how significant is the difference in the equipment (wheels, brakes, ...). How good is the frame on 3.1?
Which one would you recommend for a newbie? I have never ridden a carbon bike. It would be also quite hard to test ride the bikes (both of them need to be ordered to the shop first)
I was considering the same bikes but went with the Madone 4.5. But between the two I'd go 3.1, better frame, better components. But if you can step up to the 4.5 it's well worth it. You'll get lighter frame, Ultegra components (FD, RD, Shifters) and Bontrager wheels versus "Bontrager Approved" wheels.