Thanks all -
@Glasgow44's pal here. Turned out I had a virgin account here already!
To clarify, £600 is for a second hand bike. So yes, open to something classic.
At the moment, I have a hybrid, a Verenti Addition 3-
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-addition-3-2016/ - which I always quite liked, but while on this trip to Mallorca, I rented a proper road bike, a Kuota Korsa -
https://www.sowerbybroscycles.co.uk/view-product/Kuota-Korsa-carbon-2015
Aside from the very noticible weight difference, I was significantly more capable - for example, hills on my hybrid tire me out, but with the road bike, much steeper and lengthier hills were a dream.
However, didn't like the rim brakes - it felt like I had a lot more control with the disc brakes on my hybrid.
Things that make me nervous about buying second hand:
1 - unseen damage to the frame (or am I unnecessarily worrying)
2 - it being stolen
I notice the
Decathlon one "sounds" reasonable to me (who doesn't know what they're really looking at!) - but there's an really positive review at
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/road-bikes/btwin-ultra-af-gf
One thing the review does touch on, is that the weight made the climbs feel sluggish - which, is one of the things I was most impresseed with by the Kuota I rented. So, is this something an amateur is likely to notice, or are Cycling Weekly likely just noticing it since they'll be tuned in?