Quote Originally Posted by jocelynlf View Post
Everybody's gotta start somewhere, right? There's only so much that you can learn from measurements and test rides. And even if that first bike isn't "perfect," the more miles you put on it, the more you'll know about what you want in your next bike.

I thought my first road bike would be all the road bike I would ever want, and then I learned that there are a lot of really good reasons to have more than one bike!
Ditto.

I rode about 2000 miles on my first road bike in the first year. Traded it in on a different bike and then put about 2000 miles on that one in year two. In year three, I sold that road bike and bought the one I have now (which has about 3000 miles on it ) and I LOVE it. BUT, I would not have known that this bike would be perfect for me had I not had the experience I'd had on the first two bikes.

Don't stress about getting the *perfect* bike for you for your first road bike. Get something you can afford, that fits you, that's decent quality and that will meet your short term needs. Ride and ride some more. And then re-evaluate your needs...if they change, you can change your bike, if they don't, you're good to go!

Oh, and now I have 5 bikes ...one for each occasion (though my 3rd road bike still gets the most use, by far!).