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Are you sure you are a 52 frame? You want to be very careful to get the right size and a good fit. For your first bike, it might be wise to buy from a store, whether it's used or not. Hopefully a store you have been referred to and feel you can trust. Not all bike shops are the same in this regard. If you are 100% sure what your frame size is and, especially if you have someone helping you who knows a thing or two about bikes, then you might be fine buying online. But either way, get a bike fit at a shop.
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To summarize what everyone said, go to a bike shop and tell them you are a first timer and your budget. They will help you find a bike and let you test ride a few. If the shop has a few locations, they can call around a find the right frame size. My understanding is bikes don't have much of a markup, so it's hard to find sales. When they do go on sale, it would be the end of the summer.
I also love my Trek, but my DH made me try others and it concreted my decision.
