>>1530843It really depends on the year, and how well you know what you really want. You could spend lots on a gravel bike, then never take it offroad, or get endurance road, and decide you wanted a hill climbing lightweight. Or got an aggressive crit bike, when you really should have gotten a all around aero.
I'd aim for something in Sora with rim brakes. AL frame, CF fork. It's should be in the neighborhood of what you want.
Check out it's neighbors in Claris, and 105, as well as entry level full carbon and hydraulic disc to round out the upper and lower ranges.
Tiagra is in kind of a weird spot right right this second.
A 1200-1500 bike with a few hundred for a wheel replacement is also a common and viable choice, especially if you're racing.
Pic vaguely related. It's out of your budget. The 105 version anon mentions is probably the highest end you should remotely consider.
>>1530856No. You're correct in that it has training day wheels and not race wheels. But it's really not off the pace significantly. Most racers can't afford or don't want to race full world tour completes. It really wouldn't be out of place for that bike to be in the front pack in cat 1. It's unquestionably a serious race bike.
>>1530847I would recommend NEVER taking advice from the fruit felater there.
