Budget

Hello everyone, sorry to ask 'one of those' questions but I need advice on a new wheelset.

The stock wheels that came with the bike have about had it and so i thought that with the summer round the corner I'll save up for 2-3 months for a new set. (i'm a student, yes, it will take that long to save).

I've set myself a budget of £300 ish, I know campy and Mavic offer some for about 320 so i could be swayed. They need to be hard wearing as the roads around me aren't exactly svelte.

At the minute the Fulcrum Racing 5s are most appealing but it looks to be a bit of a minefield.

I need a new bike rack for my Skoda Fabia... I don't know whether to;
1 - invest in rails for the roof and get an upright bike rack
2 - have a tow bar fitted and buy a tow-bar rack
3 - opt for a cheap (and quick) fix with a rear carrier that fits to my boot....
Any ideas? I had a rear carrier previously, it was cheap and perished....but I am on a bit of a tight budget.

Any advice would be most appreciated!

Ta!

I am looking to buy a new bike. I intend, probably being a bit optimistic here, up to £2500. I already have a 20 + year old Brian Rourke 531 frame road bike [it is a tourer really] and a 20 + year old Specialized mountain bike. I prefer the road to the off road. I am cycling to get fit and I hope to cycle to work occasionally [not on the new bike yet though] with a train journey as well. Not sure if now is the time to get the new bike or wait until the spring/summer. I want to have everything included for the £2500 not just frame.

My friend is buying a first road bike, and is looking to spend sub £600. For this I should imagine that she will be able to afford:
>Shimano 2300 or maybe Sora
>Carbon forks
>Decent tyres

I do know quite a lot about bicycles, so I recommended the following models:
-Specialized Allez 16
-Giant Defy 5
-Raleigh Airlite 200 or 300

The new bike is actually for a three day ride to Amsterdam later on in the year.

Being like minded with the designers of Cervelo bikes, you'll note that I didn't recommend any female specific bikes.

cyclingcuts

Hello all. Apologies if this has been asked and answered recently, but I couldn't see anything similar. Currently commuting to work (20-25 miles round trip) and looking for some new wheels to do it on. However, very limited budget (in bike terms) of £500, and that's the absolute max. So was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. Noticed the lower end of the Specialized Sirrus range scrapes in under the mark, but I know next to nothing about road bikes (transferring from MTB) so I don't know if there's better value for money out there.