Normally I would not ask ... but Kingston's Post #36 made me curious. In what ways is your current bike not ideal?

If your current bike is mechanically sound and you are used to riding it ... basic bike technology has not come a Long way since then. it is still a fairly light, sturdy frame with a decent drive train. no reason Not to replace it but ... if it were mine I might throw on a carbon fiber fork and a modern 105 group set ... the rear spacing might be an issue .... but for training and commuting the bike is fine, I'd think.

Of course, what i would Really do is buy a new bike And rebuild the old (that's what I actually did.) Still Kingston makes a good point ... buying a bike and hoping you will ride more can be a great deal ... for the guy who buys the bike the overly optimistic would-be rider is selling at a huge markdown.

Also ... how does the existing bike fit? At the very least you can use it and the Comeptitive Cyclist fit finder and a little calculation and figure out exactly what would be most comfortable for you.

One place I will strongly disagree with Kingston---no reason not to use the same bike for all the purposes you list unless your grocery store is in a particularly high-theft neighborhood--in which case i'd suggest shopping somewhere else. If you are a very serious rider who plans to push really hard on every ride so he can hang with the fast guys on the local weekend club rides ... then you might want to save up for a really light bike with race geometry. however, if you just want to enjoy riding and maybe get a little faster as time goes on, most bikes will work just fine.

Nothing wrong with being a Type A bike personality. Some people really enjoy riding when "riding" means "being uncomfortable or in pain all during the ride and sore afterwards." Some people really want to win the informal sprints at the stop signs. Some guys want to be first back to the parking lot.

If that is not you, then most any $1000 road bike will work fine for you. And even if you are the Type A rider, having a heavier bike than everyone else will just mean you can grin bigger when you beat them.

Maybe Kingston didn't read the details of your shopping technique---but since you aren't looking for a rack and panniers, you don't really need an "all-purpose" bike. The idea that a bike you can take on fast road rides cannot also be ridden to work or the store is ... well I Strongly disagree. If your "commute" was partly off-road, or over Really crappy urban roadways ... or if your "trip to the grocery' was to buy everything for an entire week .... otherwise, you could take a $10,000 racing bike and do all the same stuff that you do on your current bike and do it just as well ... or a $500 mail-order bike, or a $1000 bike from a local shop.