Questions BEFORE the LBS trip...

[Kelly728]

luna,
it was not my intention to come off snarky. sorry if i did. I meant that if i did go above my price range i would have to tighten my budget on anything else I may need to purchase with the bike.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Getting a frame that fits is in my opinion the very most important thing. All the other things on a bike can be swapped and changed to fit your changing needs and your changing budget over time. But if the frame itself is a poor fit you will likely get discouraged and be uncomfortable. You will want to ride less, not more.
Some people start out on a heavy hybrid or a cheap mountain bike and ride on the roads when a road bike might have been a smarter first choice. But if that bike fits them well and they are comfortable on that bike, they ride it more and more and begin to really love biking- that's when they later figure out what they really need and maybe sell the old bike and get a new better suited one. (Some of these people have happily ridden centuries on their heavy hybrids. )
Another person might start out with the same hybrid but that fits them badly and makes their back hurt, etc. That person might just give up on biking after a couple of months, disgusted with the whole unpleasant ordeal.
Getting a bike that fits comfortably makes bike riding a joy. When riding is a joy, all other obstacles seem to become less daunting.

[lunacycles]

it was not my intention to come off snarky.

No, not at all. I hope I didn't either. From your reply, it just sounded like I made my point vaguely, if at all, so I wanted to try again.

[Kelly728]

Made it out to two shops today.

LBS #1: Really not going to waste my time here. I told them my range of around $1000 and he walked me over to the sale bikes saying this is all I could really get. Ok fine. He pulled out one bike and said this probably would be ok. He tested the stand over height and didn't look at anything else...*awkward silence* I decided to leave at that point.

LBS #2: The sales guy really took his time with me explaining the components of each bike and what I would really be getting for my money. This shop mostly sells Treks so that is where we focused. He pulled out a 52cm (WSD) due to my giant legs of doom and after a test on the trainer, it was a bit too big. We went down to a 50cm Trek 2.1 WSD which felt pretty good on the trainer. I still have to reach a bit, but he said we can try to see where we get with adjustments. I'm going back tomorrow during daylight hours for a test ride.

I'm going to try to make it out to two more shops as well tomorrow. I'm excited but scared about the test ride!

[vinbek]

I agree with all the comments so far. I started off with a 52 cm used cannonale as a recreational cyclist. I ended up with a 48cm criterium frame cannondale and raced for many years. It was an evolution for me. I was a runner and basically wore my knees out and my doctor urged me to cycle instead. The frame fit is crucial to begin with - you can upgrade your components as you go along. One thing to consider, if you are going to participate in tris - you will want tri bars on your bike when training and competing for time. This will stretch you out even more. You will use these bars only when riding alone - they are not good for group riding. This might be too much info for now, but its something to think about for the future. Good luck. Bekki