Thanks for everyones help-new bike now on order :)

[Dave7]

I appreciate everyones imput.....it helped to focus my mind on the 'mine field' of bike selection.
I have gone for the Ribble New Sportive as per link below.
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bikeb...&part=BB12RIBNEWSPORTIVE&sub=conf_BBRC&bike=1
The Sportive Biancho is apparently slight more forgiving due to fork design but the new Sportive has a shorter top tube which for a short a*^#~s like me is more comfortable (and the colour scheme is to die for!)
With Ribble you can chose the full spec and in brief I went for
Full 105s (compact gears)
Fulcrum 5s with Gatorskin foldable tyres (for some reason they dont offer Marathons?)
Shimano M530 SPDs
Alloy/carbon bars. Carbon Seat post and Carbon stem
That put the price up to £1380 which is slightly under what I had budgeted so I can treat the wife or buy myself something........erhhhh.
Delivery is 10 working days......and counting!!!!!!

 

[gbb]

Nice one Dave...well with yours and mine, that only leaves them another 18 to assemble this or next week so they'd better get a mush on

105 groupset, i was so close to having that, i do like the look of the STIs and chainset...but stuck with campag.
My Fulcrum 5s will be off the currect good bike, but only slightly used.

I can see plenty of pics coming soon.

 

[Dave7]

Nice one Dave...well with yours and mine, that only leaves them another 18 to assemble this or next week so they'd better get a mush on

105 groupset, i was so close to having that, i do like the look of the STIs and chainset...but stuck with campag.
My Fulcrum 5s will be off the currect good bike, but only slightly used.

I can see plenty of pics coming soon.

I went for 105s purely because I've only ever had Shimano and my Tiagras gave no problem. I like the Campag 'changers' but decided to stick with "what I know".
I might go and get a bigger memory card for the camera