The 9-year bicycle

Roughly 9 years ago, I cashed out some stock options and bought my road bike, a Felt F95X.

Over the years, I've kept it fairly stock. I changed the tires to Continental Gran Prix 4000 Series II, and changed the seat to a much more comfortable Terry Fly Ti. For long rides, I use the Terry Liberator Y Gel saddle. I've tried a few different brake pads, but they don't do much to make it stop quickly.

I've ridden it for long rides, short rides, dirt rides, but mostly road rides. Recently, it's been doing a lot of Hawk Hill and Marin County. Here's what it looked like after a long ride (Cambridge to Provincetown in one day).

I had a basic bike fitting recently. Turns out, this bike is just a slight too big for me. Given it's also 9 years old, I'm considering a new one. I have the Tern, which has been great for grocery getting and other hauling around. It's not so fun for Hawk Hill and longer rides, as it's too small for me and heavy like a tank.

I've gone back and forth on upgrades versus replacing the Felt. I've decided going with replacing it is the best option. And now, I've spent way too much time researching new road bikes. Carbon? Aero? Lightweight? Titanium? So many choices. My approach is to rent likely target bikes and do the Hawk Hill ride. Buy through a local bike shop? By direct? Canyon? Bikes Direct? Pinkbike? eBay?

The search begins...