I bought my first road bike a few weeks ago. A full carbon synapse 2 which I bought new for 1,400. I didnt test ride the alloy models but, what I can say about mine is that it is very comfortable on long rides and performs great, was well worth the money spent. 70 miles in two months is nothing, I put about 175 on mine so far in about 2 weeks. Anyway you should probably goto your local bike shop and have them size you correctly to a bike. You can buy a decent new road bike in that price range such as a specialized allez. Test ride a few new bikes at the shop too just so you can make a comparison based on what feels best for you and see how that synapse compares when you go to look at it.