I am looking at getting back into cycling after many years away. I want a good bike that will allow me to comfortable ride 40 - 80 miles on a weekend with a Century ride thrown in every once in a while. 5'10" / 150lbs 32" Inseam

I used to ride centuries in the late 80s on a Marushi RX-5.

I have looked at the following:

Motobecane Vent Noir $700
Trek 1000 $ 700
Giant OCR2 $900
Giant OCR3 $649

Any others?

What are your thoughts on what I should buy? I live in an area with very flat terrain.

I think you need more than a Trek 1000 if you are doing that distance. I presume you have a 54 or 56 inch frame?

I am looking at getting back into cycling after many years away. I want a good bike that will allow me to comfortable ride 40 - 80 miles on a weekend with a Century ride thrown in every once in a while. 5'10" / 150lbs 32" Inseam

I used to ride centuries in the late 80s on a Marushi RX-5.

I have looked at the following:

Motobecane Vent Noir $700
Trek 1000 $ 700
Giant OCR2 $900
Giant OCR3 $649

Any others?

What are your thoughts on what I should buy? I live in an area with very flat terrain.

The OCR3 and Trek 1000, while fine bikes, are 8-speed Sora bikes. There is literally ZERO good 8-speed equipment on the market any more, and upgrading the bike to 9 or 10-speed will cost $200 or more JUST for the STI brake/shifter levers.

It used to be that you could upgrade componentry for a reasonable price, but the STI integrated levers have killed that possibility.

We've got a ton of 9-speed bikes in our house (literally 9 bikes for three riders...) and even though good 9-speed road parts are drying up in terms of supply, I figure my son, the racer, will probably move to 10-speed first, and we'll have a pile of leftover 9-speed parts to get my wife and me down the road a bit with the other bikes (mountain bikes are still 9-speed).

It's almost like buying computers, when you had to choose between a 386 or 486 chip....

If there is any way for you to squeek into 10-speed, I'd go that route--I think the OCR2 is 9-speed Tiagra, and I'd choose that over any of the others (unless the Motobecane is 9 or 10-speed)--the cost difference is more than made up just in the cost of a shifter/brake lever upgrade, and you're probably getting better wheels, etc, with the bike.

George