Thanks heaps for that Hitchy. Most of my riding will be long (if you can call 2 hours or more long) on crappy roads. I took a 2 and a half hour ride on the best road we've got out here on monday on my mountainbike, and I still felt beaten up. The road is still very coarse and rough but that fatigue was probably more to do with doing it on a mountainbike to small for me (head down bum up).

I've got no problems with Aluminium as long as it's got some carbon at either end. Hence me all by having laid down money for that Orbea. Buying local, I think that's about the best I'm going to do. It's only Orbea's mid range frame, but I don't think it should be terrible. One of my mates bought a flat barred Orbea with Tiagra and almost the bottom of the range frame, and that still seems like a nice frame. Certainly rides well enough (with a carbon fork). The only reason I'd buy a TCR is just to say it's carbon. And that's a poor excuse I guess. I'm sure I could do better if I lived down in Melbourne as well. That's not the reality of things though.