Thanks for the advice! I am pretty sure I'll get a HT. I actually have a mountain bike, an old Trek, but it's been living in the yard for ~4 years, and I think it would be cheaper to get a new bike than rebuild the old spider infested, rusted mess that the Trek has become. It makes me really sad that I let that bike go; I feel like a terrible bike mama but what's done is done. Thanks for the info on the components! i'm looking forward to testing out some bikes