Hello! I was hoping if I can get any input as I don't have any close friends that ride mtn or road bikes & I'm about to drop some serious $$$ (to me) on my first ever road bike. Some background on me: I've had my Costco bought mtn bike for the last ~15 - 20 yrs, and I normally ride ~15 mi (50% climbing) every other day for supplemental fitness.
Lately, I've been thinking of upgrading to a road bike as, let's face it, my mtn bike is pretty old and I want to eventually start increasing my mileage. Recently, I went to my local sporting goods store (Sports Chalet) and was talking to the guy working at the bike dept & he was saying how CF road bikes aren't as durable / doesn't last as long as Al. Is there any validity to this? While I was there, he showed me a KHS Flite 300 aluminum road bike. Weighing in at ~24 lbs, the pedal effort was unreal. Of course I was indoors and on a leveled surface, but I couldn't believe how effortless riding a semi-light bike was as compared to my daily steel behemoth! lol
On Sat, I went to Performance Bike Shop in Mountain View, and saw a 2009 Fuji CCR-3 that was currently on sale for $999. I'm a shorter guy, at 5'2" on a good day; so it being size 44 cm frame seemed like a good fit. (There were no pedals attached so I wasn't able to ride around.) Unfortunately, I did see another bike next to it, a 2011 GT GTR Expert for $1999.99 that has upgraded ultegra components (the ccr-3 has tiagra) and honestly, the GT bike felt lighter even as the frame is a size medium compared to the xs CCR-3. (The gt gtr weighed in a little over 16 lbs, but I would need a size xs) I spoke with a salesguy and he stated with the ccr-3, it is outfitted with lower components so basically I'm just paying for a carbon frame. Knowing myself, I will most likely upgrade to ultegra drivetrain. He then further stated that the cost of upgrading to ultegra would surpass what it would cost for the gt gtr expert, so that got me into thinking of just getting that from the get go.
I understand that coming from a 20 yr old, 40 lbs steel lower end mtn bike; any current road bike even with Sora components would be a huge upgrade for me- but I want something that I can keep for a few years. Do you think it would be better to go with the CCR-3? Or should I blow caution to the wind and go for the gtr expert? I do have to admit that aesthetically, I do prefer the gtr. Any other bike recommendations would be greatly appreciated. (I did see our very own barfer "Kickstand" co-owns Cyclepath in San Mateo, so I will be making a visit prior to any purchase.) Thanks!
Looks like they increased the price for the ccr-3 by $500. =(
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1099001_-1_1591008_20000_400296
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1098109_-1_20000__400315
)
Am I missing something??? 
But I guess my face isn't pretty enough to try and protect anyway. 
In the end someone might end up becoming a road kill from massive internal injuries because a driver was too busy texting. In which case kind of pointless what helmet they were wearing. 
