First road bike!

FWIW ...

[INDENT]I would choose the Raleigh Clubman, too ...

[INDENT]But, I'm partial to bikes with steel frames.

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Is this the first time you are doing any kind of physical activity religiously? or are you a current very active runner?

The reason I ask that question is because if you are not involved in any type of sport in a religious manner spending the kind of money you are considering to do could become a wasteful $1,000 piece of garage art. And bikes depreciate in value fast, so even if you try to sell it 2 years later you won't get much for it. I suggest if this is your first rodeo in the physical activity world that you find a really nice gently used bike for around $300.

If you are doing some sort of physical activity religiously then the two bikes you mentioned are very adequate bikes for a first time bike. The two bikes are very different from one another, you have to decide if you want a bike that looks like what everyone else rides, a carbon fiber I'm riding a racer bike, or do you want something that looks more vintage but is also suitable for light touring, and commuting that the other one is not as well suited for if at all suited for.

I would say that if you are a religious activity person you should buy the lower costing Clubman, you can use this bike for anything unlike the other, than later when you decide you want a more faster type of bike look for something better than the SP Elite and get into a nice mid level bike with 105 components. Just an opinion of course.

So which bike did you buy?

Thanks for the advice froze!

Went with the clubman. Love it! Got a couple of 10 mile rides in this weekend. slowly build me up to the 100 mile in June/July.

Congrats, I've heard a lot of nice things about that bike on various forums so I'm sure it's a fine bike. The further you ride the more you'll appreciate the comfort of a bike like that.