LouisD

Hi*
I'm in the market for my first road bike.
after riding for 2 years in every single weather ( rain, snow, boilling hot and freezing days )*
I can safely say that i love cycling.*

the use I would have for the new bike :

1 - is it ok to ride your main expensive road bike in the rain .. is it common practice ?*
If some cleening or maintenance is required, I'm a pretty handy guy, and I can most likely learn how to do it.
I do not plan in riding my new bike in the snow or the salt any time soon but I would like to be able to use it in the rain.
so .. place for fenders would be appreciated. ( even if they can only be attach to the saddle )

2 - my budget is 800-1200$ and I do not mind buying used!*
*- I have NOO preference for hight end aluminum or low end carbon, I really dont care*
I also dont care if the bike is flashy or not, i'm really looking for a ( bang for your buck ).... and i'm not a ubgrade kinda guy.*
(aside from sadle and tires)*
- I'm no weight freak, and I cant care less if my bike is a bit heavyer.
- I'm dont participate in races nor do i do 1000km a day, but i do enjoy riding to work/friends

3 - I'm not really looking for a touring bike ... but I would still like if my bike could ... hold 1 small bag on the front or the back of the bike. (carry a few books to work)
.... I really dont plan on carrying heavy stuff, or crossing canada, I'm a light person myself ( 170 lbs).*
but I plan of using that bike in 5+ years

4 - I live in canada / quebec montreal, so the bike needs to be ** find-able here ***
( Trek, Opus, Cannondale, specialized, felt, MEC, ... )*
ps: just a heads up, roads here, are NOT that nice here (thx winter)

5 - I am a cautious buyer, and I like to read reviews and comments on something before I buy it,*
1200$ is a lot of money ( I'm still a student ) and I really want to make sure I got something decent.

6- I looked at my LBS and, people are nice but the bike price is really not on par whit what I could buy online / used.
we are talking about a 20%-30% increase O.o

7- I was looking for advice on bike models that would fit the bill the best the from reading the forum the
( caad 8 - 9 - 10 ) seems to be praised, the ( trek 2.1 ) , (Felt z95)* also*
what other bike should I Look into

ps: thx to anyone actualy taking quite a bit of their own time to suggest or compare bikes, you dont know how its appreciated, this is big investment on my part and i'm looking at this tread almost every day