Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
For that price, go with electronic. If you shop around and are open to a previous year's model, it won't come at much of a premium.
Cervelo C3 meets your criteria, also rides and handles beautifully.
Agreed. New 2020s have made (and are still making) their way into stores so 2019 bikes are being put on sale. I'd recommend looking at Giant Defy as well, it's their endurance model with discs, and since Giant makes their own frames (along with frames for Trek and Colnago) you can often get a similarly spec'd bike for 10-15% less MSRP. Giant dealers, at least those near me, are also more willing to be flexible with pricing (assuming you either have a relationship with them or come across at least friendly). 5K gets you at or near the top of the line MSRP for the Defy. I think it's 5500 MSRP for 2019 version so you can definitely get it for less than that and it comes with Ultegra Di2
and a power meter if that's appealing to you. If you want a current model year Defy, 5600 MSRP gets you in the middle of the range (they introduced a higher model I guess) with the new SRAM Force eTap 12 but no power meter. Giants come with their in-house SLR wheels which are good, but don't compete with high-end offerings like ENVE whose wheels are over $2500 MSRP. At the 5K mark you're likely going to get each maker's standard in-house mid-level carbon wheels (Treks will come with Bontrager Pro 3 or 5, Giants with SLR-1, etc.).
If you want electronic groupset
and great wheels for $5K you'll have to hunt around for deals from things that are like 2 model years old. For example, a couple of months ago I drove 50+ miles (in SoCal traffic that's equal to crossing state lines in most other parts of the country) because a dealer had a 2018 Cervelo S3 SRAM eTap HRD 11-speed they were clearancing (manufacture date on frame was May 2017 so it's just over 2 years old). Yes it had the old 11 speed eTap, but it came with ENVE SES 5.6 disc wheels with DT Swiss 240S hubs. Originally MSRP'd for $8800, discounted to $4999, I asked them for best offer they could give me, $5K out the door (10% CA sales tax means I got it for a hair under $4600). But I lucked into that deal, and had been checking my LBS's sites for clearances off and on. Also anything that old and deeply discounted they'll likely only have odd sizes left. In this case they only had 51 and 61 frames. Fortunately I'm a 51.
But that method relies on a lot of research and luck.