As a long time bike commuter, I recently got into road cycling when I scored a sweet deal on a early-2010’s Ridley Excalibur (full carbon, Ultegra groupset, aggressive race geometry, 19 lbs). I love it, and I’ve done about 100 miles so far, but I’ve been getting some sort of pain no matter what adjustments I make. After some research, I think I may be better served by an endurance bike, especially because I’d like to do longer rides and go off pavement on occasion.
I was hoping to spend about $1000 USD, +/- a few hundred. I’m targeting the big 5 endurance bikes: Trek Domane, Specialized Roubaix, Cannondale Synapse, Canyon Endurace, and Giant Defy, mainly because they’re well regarded and the most common on FB Marketplace.
After stalking the market for a couple of weeks, the two options seem to be:
1) Getting something used from the mid-2010s for $500-$1000 with Tiagra/105, likely rim brakes, and either an older carbon frame or a newer alu frame.
2) Trying to find a good deal on something new; likely Claris or Sora (maybe Tiagra) but disc brakes, a warranty, and the groupset would at least be the most recent version. Would probably have to spend ~$1200.
Examples: [New Alu Synapse with Tiagra](https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/road/endurance/synapse/synapse-tiagra) or a [New Domane AL 2 Gen 4](https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/road-bikes/performance-road-bikes/domane/domane-al/domane-al-2-gen-4/p/41587/)
My questions:
-Which would you pick? Or should I just work on my core strength/flexibility and ride my existing race bike?
-How much have groupsets progressed in the last 10 years? Does a 2023 Sora = a 2013 105?
-Do disc brakes make a big difference? I’ve found my current rim brakes rather…uninspiring
-Should I just suck it up and spend more to get something I can grow into like [a 2023 Endurace with 105](https://www.canyon.com/en-us/road-bikes/endurance-bikes/endurace/al/endurace-8-disc/2854.html) or a [Trek Domane AL 4 with Tiagra](https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/road-bikes/performance-road-bikes/domane/domane-al/domane-al-4-gen-4/p/41607/)
by hazardousplay