I've had my hybrid just over a month.. already want a road bike!

[sarahspins]

Save up and wait until you can afford something that is not considered entry level. You will not regret it. Sometimes patience really is a virtue.

I think this is my plan.. if I am looking to buy, it probably won't be until spring at the earliest because it will take me that long to save up enough.

Be careful about buying misc parts here and there unless you REALLY know what you are buying.
We get people in here all the time with their "scores" that end up to... well... not be. Not compatible, wrong size, speed- whatever. We see it all the time.

Oh, I agree.. and I am worried about getting the "right" parts if I do anything significant. The bars I've ordered (Soma Sparrow) should work with the MTB shifters/brakes that are already on my bike, and the stem is the same size too, so it should just be a matter of switching out the bars. At most, I see myself possibly swapping out the stem if I feel like I need more/less reach with the new bars... but that I won't really know until they're here.

[wackyjacky1]

wackyjacky1 - your moustache bars and bar end shifters look nice. What was involved in changing your bars and shifters out? Did you do it yourself or have it done at a LBS?

Had it done at the LBS where I bought my bike. I shopped around for the parts (handlebars, brake levers, bar-end shifters) and once I had gathered everything, I brought them to the shop and they put it on for me.

I definitely daydream about acquiring a sweet road bike, but at the moment I just can't justify the cost based on my current skill/fitness level. I'll get there someday, but in the meantime I adore my 7.2FX; it's my "everything" bike. But those flat bars had to go -- they were h#ll on my hands and wrists!

[sarahspins]

Well I've been poking around (yay google), and it seems that even with paying my LBS to do the installing, if I gather all the parts, it looks like it will be pretty reasonable to get more comfortable bars on my bike... much less than spending money now on a used road bike, and I can still save for a road bike if that is the direction I see myself going in later