[QUOTE=TrekRider]Just when I thought I had finally decided on what bike to buy, something comes along and tosses a spanner into the works. My wife just told me that instead of gifts this year, everyone is going to give me money for my new bike.

I had just


Funnily enough, I had a similiar "problem". I wanted to replace my 30 year old 10 speed and decided to do so on my 50th birthday last month. I based my choice of bikes on what I thought really made sense for the amount of riding that I do, and the budget I had. Got all psyched up, tested bikes and put a deposit on a Giant OCR2 with a pick up on my birthday. Now I knew I was going to get some $$ instead of presents because everyone heard I wanted a bike. Cool. So, I ordered and got the bike then.......actually got more than I expected from family and friends! So, I could have reached for the OCR1 with no significant out of pocket dollars. ARrghghhg! I second guessed that for several weeks until I sat down and looked at the real differences between the OCR1 and the OCR2. In the end, it amounts to components; Tiagra/105 vs 105/Ultegra. That's pretty much it. Same frame, etc. Smoother shifting? Probably. A little ego boost? Sure.

But for me, recreational weekend rider, I realized that for the actual ride, it wasn't going to matter anyway and I can always upgrade later on as need be.
I have the extra money earmarked for a jersey, maybe some nicer bike shorts.

Good luck. Happy Holidays!

Sheldon