Hi Robyn~

Yes! I have a Terry Isis (17.5" size with the 24" front wheel). This was my first road bike after many years away from cycling; it's a 2001 steel model. It's a great bike, a bit heavier than what I ride now (a carbon Aegis Swift), but it was a great bike to get back into cycling with for me.

The smaller front wheel is not a problem. Truly, you never notice that you're riding a bike with a small front wheel. It's a bit inconvenient, since you always have to carry two different size tubes, and the tubes can be a bit hard to find (though you can order a stock from Terry, and my LBS carried them as well), but aside from that, it's truly no biggie. The nice thing about it is that it enables we shorties to ride a bike with a very short top tube with no toe overlap and good geometry. I changed bikes not because of the smaller front wheel but because I wanted to go carbon (lighter) and change component lines to a compact double (better shifting).

I enjoyed riding my Terry very much and still ride it on my trainer. The only thing I wish it had was a longer stem, since the short stem put me a bit behind the front hub and thus affected my ability to climb out of the saddle (a bit squirrely). Knowing what I know now about bike handling, I'd swap the stock 65 mm stem out for an 80-90 mm stem and be just fine.

A Terry Symmetry is a bit heavier yet than an Isis, but for a few hundred $, I expect it would serve you well as a "starter bike". However, if you can spend a bit more, you can get a lighter aluminum bike with carbon fork and probably ride faster. I know I saw a bit of a speed increase when I moved to a lighter bike.

Let us know what you do!

Emily