shopping for my first road bike!

[pedalfaster]

"1: I figure I can always upgrade components down the road, if that's what I need to do to stay in budget right now. "

Just remember that it is always more expensive for *you* to buy components than it is for say, Trek. In other words, if you know you like to ride and plan to ride a lot...try to reach the top-end of your budget in your initial purchase. I've watched many people start off with a $600 road bike...9 months and $900 in upgrades later...they have the bike they *could* have bought for $1200 to begin with.

Also make sure that the bike you buy is up-grade worthy. The frame is the heart of the bike, and as Emily pointed out size DOES matter. An ill-fitting bike will never be a good bike.

When shopping at the lower-end of the road-bike spectrum, make sure that you are getting at least nine-speed. This will make any future upgrades much easier.

" I don't understand steel vs. aluminum preferences. Anyone want to help with that? I hear talk like steel is preferred, but my current bike is steel (I think) and weighs a ton. Hefted some aluminum babies at the LBS last night & thought, "wow - so light!" Weight matters to me somewhat. (No garage, have to haul bike up & down trecherous basement stairs!) "

High end, light steel (e.g. Reynolds 853) is difficult to find in the lower price ranges. Generally (sadly perhaps) you'll find this wonder-metal in the small and custom-builder market. Frames in this class (and we are talking frame or frame-and-fork only) will generally run $800-1200.

In the $600-800 range you'll see mainly aluminum frames. As Emily said test ride as much as possible because different frames (even made from the same material) DO ride differently. Most bikes will come with a carbon fork to help with some of the road chatter. You can also soften the ride of aluminum with a ti or carbon seatpost, ti rails on your saddle and by running slighly wider (25s instead of 23s) tires.