Originally Posted by
fietsbob
'best' might blow off the top of your budget.. how much are you willing to spend ?
where are you located, and have you found a shop you like? what brand lines do they sell?
I would like to get it under $2000 if possible. I live in Texas. So at first most rides are going to be flat/hill country but I plan to travel eventually once trained more.
Something with solid resell value and something that is going to be a solid buy as not being a super experienced bike mechanic, I want something dependable with stock components built to do long distance rides out of the box.
I can drive an hour into Austin to a bike shop. Usually cheaper to order offline.