£4.5k insurance payout!! What bike would you buy?

and change the bars.

...I'd donate at least £2k to me!
You'll feel better for it!
I'll feel better for it!
You know it makes sense....!!??

I would say that depends on whether you enjoy awful puns or not. Personally, I love riding a Wilier just because of the innuendo.

On a serious note though, I would put some of the money towards a cycling holiday and/or a more 'everyday' bike. I don't like getting my Wilier wet, so actually end up spending more time on my cheap aluminium mountain bike for commuting, going to pick stuff up, see people etc.

Oh and obviously, you'd be best advised to wait a few months, as you will get much more for your money!

Get a cheap bike of Ebay (not nicked) and use the huge remainder to reduce the mortgage.

Anything as long as it's red... http://road.cc/content/forum/158521-does-colour-matter

Probably a CANYON Aeroad CF SLX 9.0 SL, if you know what geometry suits you.

https://www.canyon.com/en-jp/road/aeroad/aeroad-cf-slx-9-0-sl.html

With that much to spend if I wanted carbon I'd probably go for a custom-made Comtat frame http://www.comtat.co.uk. For steel, there are so many to choose from: Feather, Hartley, Jon Chickens, Saffron. Ooh, yeah, Saffron… At the moment I'm more than happy with my Condor, mind…

Just buy what you want, not what an internet forum advises you to!

No, please. You can have supper.

I've just heard the bike for life thing so many times and seen people disappointed. They (whoever they are...) used to say get a titanium bike, then they started cracking, they used to say get a 953 steel bike, then struggled to get it repaired, or watched it rust from the inside. Then the bike industry started behaving like the handbag industry and whatever you bought this year was outdated in 18 months.

It's like shoes; buy something that your kids won't laugh at and repeat when they get worn out.

Sorry Crikey, I've upset you.

I'll send myself straight to bed with no supper

It's a turn of phrase that would have seen me buy about 5 bikes; the industry has changed, it's a fashion led thing now and if you buy a bike for life, your life will be short or your bike will be outdated....

Although Stockport is at its most attractive at this time of year, the sun setting on the red brick viaduct;

The best way to buy a bike is to choose a frame which has been ridden at ProTour level and buy a groupset which has been well tested; don't get the newest thing you can, go 1 or 2 years old tech. That way you know it all works and will carry on working.

Don't trust anyone who tells you to spend loads and buy a 'bike for life'...

Bikes change so quickly that your 'bike for life' will look a bit silly in 5 years time.
I nearly got one a number of years ago, then STI shifters appeared, then aluminium appeared, then carbon appeared, then electronic groupsets appeared, then disc brakes appeared, then aero frames appeared.

You can't future proof a purchase, so buy something half decent and replace it in a few years.

Steel custom made job, Reynolds 953. Bike of a lifetime.

I'd go to Stockport, find a local girl with a taste for beer and wake up a week later in Runcorn.
You'd still have £4470 to spend on a bike.

Personally I would take myself off to Berlin, find me a local girl with a taste for champagne and wake up a week later in Paris.
Any loose change at the bottom of your suitcase could be spent on a bike.

(This idea has certain similarities to Mr Russell's post above.)

Why are you asking us? Deep down inside you know exactly what you want

I think I'd go for a Mason Resolution 105 Hydro (£2.8k) and Canyon
Ultimate CF SL 8.0 (£1.7k).

something not run of the mill with record eps

Nice problem to have, you could stick a pin in the UCI rankings and pick an awesome bike with that cash.

I'd be tempted to go to my local 'specialist fitters' (GC Bike Fit) they could order a made to measure frame from the likes of Independant Fabrication and order and build it into a dream bike around me.

From the two bikes you've mentioned, I think we've similar tastes... tough to choose, big fan of both, I want to say the Felt AR, if it weren't for that pesky bottom bracket located rear brake.

spend a grand on a bike and give the rest to charidee, mate.

Put it towards a 8k bike

or as said try as many bikes you can and see what you like the most

Buy two bikes. Or even three.

I'd go for a custom spec and build it up myself...that's part of the fun for me.
Also then you can have it exactly how you want it and not have to change a single thing.
And I'd probably save some money and go on a cycling holiday or summin

Buy something you can afford to replace if it gets trashed; spend £2K and ride it like you stole it, then replace the worn out bits with DI3 or the next equivalent which will be along in 2 years or so.

You aren't going to go any faster by spending £2K more...