I'm looking to buy a new road bike. I've had 2 in the past, both Specialized which I got on well with. Generally I thought the 2010 Allez was nice but felt a bit "budget" as the wheels seemed quite flexy, the headset became loose/worn and knocked, and the gears (sora groupset I think) started to skip. That was with only around 800 miles on it. Considering it's a bike I'll be riding every day I'm willing to spend a bit more on it this time for a more solid build, probably £600-700.
What bikes should I be looking at? I've seen some nice prices on Pauls Cycles for bikes such as the Cannondale Synapse Tiagra. Or theres the CAAD8 for an extra £80 which has a full carbon fork. Ribble also seem to be pretty good value for money but they have so many options and I'm a bit clueless when it comes to road bikes. For me the most important thing is reliability and longevity, particularly with the gearing and wheels/hubs. I don't race and probably never will so really a light weight bike isn't that important - my rides are mainly for exercise and getting some local miles in

