I received a fantastic xmas present this year - which was a home-made gift certificate to pick out the road bike of my choice. Unfortunately I get to pick the road bike of my choice and am a little bit overwhelmed with the decision.
Here's the factors to consider:
- I'm quite small (5'0")
- I do want to eventually do a few races/rides - not looking for just a bike for casual rides.
- I don't want to get a bike that I'll be disappointed with the performance after I start riding more (I made that mistake when I bought my kayak and don't want to repeat it :) ).
I've looked at Specialized and Trek so far, I do want a WSD bike as I find the smaller grips and sizing nice...but I get completely lost when looking at components and materials of the bike.
Any help from recent shoppers (or old-pros) appreciated!

