Welcome to the boards trayc! Nice to meet you. Can't help you much with the road bike, I did the same thing only I bought the commuter bike and now wish I had gone ahead and splurged for the road bike! Ahhh well! If you get a chance, theres a thread under the open forum called "getting to know you". Give ya some laughs learning about us, and if you're so inclined...tell us about you. Also gives you a chance to see what everyone else is riding...and gosh is there a LOT of variety! Good luck on your search and again, welcome!