Lemond75 wrote:Does your next bike have to be carbon?
Just thinking that something like a Tommasini Fire or a Condor Super Accaio could be custom built to your requirements and probably within, if not below your budget based upon the frames you've listed. The Tommasini retails at around £1500 including fork and is available with custom geometry at not extra cost, and the Super Accaio is £1300 for a stock frame and an additional £150 for custom geometry.
I've just bought a Super Accaio and am very impressed with the build quality. I haven't ridden it on the road but it feels stiffer than the Giant TCR Advanced it replaced whilst on the rollers.
The Super Accaio was developed to provide all of the features that you'd expect on a race frame, ie tapered head tube and steerer, full carbon fork as well as an oversized BB for stiffness, but with the compliance that steel provides.
Food for thought perhaps?
Thanks for the suggestion, but I rather stick to carbon. As a 'climber' I actually wanted to achieve a lighter set-up than my current. With steel I would likely achieve the opposite.