Centre-pull Record brakes…? Do you mean Deltas?
You know, thought they were Campy’s on the bike originally but you may be right, could have been delta’s, the switch over was made about 30 years ago and my memory of the originals could be off a bit.
There does seem to be some correlation between my hi-fi and my bikes, both being relatively modest.
My road bike is a 2015 Wilier Izoard XP 105 and my other bike is a Whyte 605 ATB. Would love a Bianchi Oltre but never been quite sure about the Celeste Green colour scheme. Unfortunately, as I’m now 66 with a heart condition I don’t think I would get enough use from it to justify the outlay.
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All my bikes could take a better rider than me! Doesn’t stop me enjoying riding them… or just going out to the shed for a look X)
The carbon CX was a real luxury buy, ex demo, but still a chunk of cash. I love riding the thing. I can’t justify the outlay other than I had the money from a windfall and there were no household commitments harmed in the process 
Great idea but looks terrible.
Probably a source from Chord Electronics
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I’m still unhappy that my 2018 Outback has a CVT rather than a 6-sp manual.
I’ve loved music systems since the glory days of Kenwood tape decks, Misson Cyrus etc etc from about the age of 16. At that time, I had a Joe Waugh 531 with Shimano 600. It was beautiful. Years passed, I continued to cycle with various icons like the Trek OCLV USPS livery with Shimano Dura Ace topping the list in about 2003/04. Time rolls on and so does tech, history is nice to connect to the past, but generally, I think newer things are simply better (if you buy quality - ie not BooHoo, more like Hugo Boss). So now, I enjoy a Supernait, NDX5 and a Linn KP12 (because one simply must) + a HiCap and B&W 702 S2 floorstanders. On the bike, its a Colnago C60 with Sram E Tap, Enve rims and Chris King hubs. Look forward, new, tends to be better !
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Cannondale Synapse with Hunt Aerolight Disc wheels for going out on my own.
Main rig and headphones for my own listening.
Cheapy hybrid for pottering around on with the kids.
Uniti 1 on AV duties for shared listening through my still lovely Ruark Prelude 2’s.
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I have the Force AXS. I’m not sure I’d spec it as a longterm retirement present type bike though.
Now Dura Ace Di2 I could see…
Why? I generally don’t take much stock in unqualified advice, so I’d like to understand what you find wrong with Force AXS. A friend who owns three local bike shops and pretty much runs the whole racing scene in town is a fan of Force AXS, and recommends it.
I won’t spend the money on a Dura-Ace groupset (or SRAM Red). I have Ultegra and GRX Di2 on three bikes and they work quite well. There’s very minimal extra benefit to D-A at a very significant extra cost, at least with price differences in the U.S. D-A and Red are not money well spent, IMO. Maybe for someone who races 100+ mile stages with sponsorship, but not me.
Shimano availability on everything is very constrained anyway.
Just my opinion as someone who rides 8k miles a year for the past 20 years. YMMV of course.
Shifting with SRAM just isn’t as silky as Shimano and replacement parts are expensive.
Here in the UK availability for all makes is awful just now - I’ve been trying to source another cassette for my Force bike but everywhere has been OOS for weeks.
I agree somewhat with you regarding DA/Red/Super Record vs Ultegra/Force/Record (or even Chorus) but as a retirement present a bit of bling is justifiable - you deserve it!
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Surely it’s little different to hi-fi, and I confess I’m out of touch with cycling, especially road bikes.
Is it not a case of defining what you want to do, how often and then maybe demoing some of the models that take your fancy, or is that not feasible?
I also ride a lot now, averaging 9400k over the last eight years. I’ve had Force 1 mechanical on my gravel bike, and it’s suitable as far as I’m concerned. I will spend some time riding a Force AXS before I give it the final decision. The other side of it I like the gearing options for 2x on Force AXS (I am getting 48/35 x 10-36), whereas I prefer GRX for 1x options.
I just don’t get excited about having DA/Red. You get exotic materials (carbon-fiber cages, etc) for some weight savings that don’t matter, at huge expense. And from what everyone says, it works better, but not that much better, and certainly not enough to justify the expense. That’s not how I want to spend my money as a retirement gift. I prefer to be more sensible and focus on things that matter. The frame is where I’m putting my money on it. I already have a very nice wheelset I’ll use with it. I’m also working within a budget, and getting DA/Red would mean cutting back on something else).
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I don’t really have to demo anything – but maybe trying out the Force AXS groupset, to make sure there aren’t any surprises about it.
I already know what It is I want to do, and have spec’d out a custom bike to satisfy my requirements. I won’t need to demo any bikes, and I’m not buying off the shelf anyway. The frame I am getting will be hand-built to a spec my dealer and I work out that’s best for me. Some bits will come off my current road bike (wheels, handlebar, saddle), since I already know I like them.
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What I would say is that when brand new, the Force was a mite ‘agricultural’. Over the last 1000 miles it has ‘worn-in’ and has improved. Bear this in mind if/when you test-ride. 
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Sounds exciting, whatever you decide, enjoy!
I spent maybe 10 years being quite into mountain biking, but this waned when a cycling pal moved far away. I still have a 20 year old mountain bike which was not cheap at the time, but am not sure it suits me 20 years later! Need to reappraise now my son is starting to enjoy cycling.
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I like to mix it up. I have a regular road bike (Cervelo C3), gravel bike (Salsa Warbird), road/cx single-speed (All-City Nature Boy) and a 27.5+ hardtail mountain bike (Heller Shagamaw).
The new bike I am planning is based on a Moots Vamoots RCS titanium frame. These are expensive, hand-built to order. It will accept 35mm tires, so it will be sort of an all-road bike. I’ll mostly use it to replace my road bike. It will run Panaracer Gravelking 32mm (slick) tires on tubeless carbon rims (which I am using now on the Cervelo). While it will be primarily for road, I can also take it off road on rails-to-trails crushed limestone routes, as well as some light gravel and packed dirt trails. For the more technical offroad stuff I still have my gravel and mountain bikes.
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