I have both steel and aluminum bikes, and I like both for different reasons. Basically, if you fall in love with the sport (and hang around with us ), you are not going to stop at one bike. They're kinda like potato chips...

You can get 2 great bikes for 4k! Seriously, 2k will get you an awesome bike.

Jonathan Vaughters said that the difference between a $500 bike and a $1500 bike is huge. Between a $1500 bike and a $5000 bike, not so much....