EZRider

You should read it. It's quite entertaining and gives a different perspective on LA than what you may think. I thought he doped but didn't much care as I believed they all did. The book changed my opinion in a subtle way, souring LA for me no matter how much good he achieved. And I know that Hamilton is a liar with an inferiority complex, the funny thing is that the book makes that clear too. Read it and then tell us what you think.

+1 on the AM 420 aeros. Great for training and racing.

Get the Dale. Carbon or alloy? Up to you but the CAAD is very light, almost as light as the six. With a set of AC aero wheels and force gruppo I builtint to 7.5 kg with pedals, cages and garmin. It's stiffer and nearly a kilo lighter than my carbon Raleigh. All good bikes you have listed, get the prettiest one, life's too short to ride an ugly bike!

That's the spirit! Keep your Alex wheels for training and you will really feel the difference on race day. Of course I can never bring myself to ride the Aksiums anymore...

+1 on the CAAD 10 but I am biased...

American classic 420 aero or ksyrium elites or Easton ea90 will all be massive upgrades and cost you between 6-8 k. Wheels can easily cost as much as the bike!

3:03 on MTB tires! Respect. Route is shorter this year so you should be good for that sub 3.

Dude, don't ever let other peoples fun grind you. Ever! That's absurd and an indication of a wake up call. And when you can do a 3:03 with MTB tires like the poster above then I'll listen to you. Oh wait, he is putting slicks on this year...

Enjoy your bike, those GTs are great machines. Put on a decent set of wheels and really good tires and you have a race machine of note.

You will cut A LOT more than 3 .5 minutes with slicks on. More like 20 - 30 minutes. You are only a poser if you care about consensus. Half the fun of road cycling is going very fast and slicks will make you much faster. And someone will care - the OP cares which is why he wants slicks in the first place. Wierd how so many feel the need to tell him how to enjoy his sport...

Post your time on the 19th, your knobby time that is...

Try for at least a 105 equipped bike or SRAM rival which is lighter. Biggest problem on budget bikes is the heavy wheels they come with but you can upgrade that later and use the old ones for training. Merida is coming out with a host of new bikes as is Silverback both make good alu bikes in your price range. For double your budget, around 15 k, you can start looking at carbon 105 bikes or top end alu bikes like the CAAD 10. Road bikes tend to take less hammering than MTB so 2nd hand will buy you a great bike for 8 k but you won't get a warranty. Let us know what you get!

Made my own. Threaded rod, 2 plywood discs, 2 nuts and Bobs your Uncle! Total cost about R10.00. If you are not making a living out of this there is no need to spend 2 k on a press. I am really pleased with the BB30 on my Dale. Awesome system.

Caad 10 105 and use the change towards decent wheels.

Didn't want to rub it in...

Smaller wheels are lighter, stiffer, cheaper, more manouverable, stronger and fit shocks that are smaller, cheaper, stronger, lighter, stiffer... Hey one of these days they will sell frames to fit these amazing small wheels!

Not sure. I think it's 100 mm.

I am 1.81 and ride a 54 CAAD. I think a 172.5 crank will work as it does for me.

It's an impressive win considering how strong the competition is!

Seriously? This is your actual opinion? And I thought the Nokia Hugger the least credible Hubber!

Thanks guys, dropped by DSTV, caught by Dale & Gummi.

Me too!

They claim 1530 gr for the pair. I haven't weighed them myself by they are light and stiff for a sub 10k set of clinchers.

Thanks Heckflosse