Is it the bike or the rider?

[Jiffer]

Since you can't spend a lot on a new bike, I'd start upgrading the one you have. Maybe start with new gears and shifters.

My bike has been an evolutions of parts, which originated as a used bike my husband bought for himself. It was a lower end Cannondale, $750 I think. He upgraded the gears, the brakes, the wheels . . . pretty much everything a little at a time as he had the money to do it, then he finally upgraded the frame. Eventually it became my bike, only we swapped out the frame. And then it continued to evolve. The only thing left on it that was on it when I got it are the Dura Ace brakes, and that's only because DH hasn't gotten around to putting the SRAM Red ones on he bought like two years ago!

It went from a $750 bike to one that would cost as much as $10,000 brand new in a retail store, though we didn't pay anywhere near that. The Cannondale SuperSix frame was new, but "blemished", so he got a great deal on it and surprised me with it and SRAM Red shifters. I have no clue where the blemish is and told him not to tell me. He and his buddy had to search a long time to find it themselves. That same buddy patiently watched Ebay for all the parts he wanted for his dream mountain bike. He always bid low and lost many bids, but eventually won enough auctions to build his dream bike for a fraction of the cost of an already built one.

My husband does all our bike maintenance himself now, but used to take our bikes to the LBS to have them replace components, etc. You can do the same and end up with a sweet bike over time.

And yes, I'm SURE it's your bike holding you back and not you!!! (Seriously!)

[KatzPajamas]

I had a similar problem with my bike. I was holding the shifter lever too long. I thought I had to hold it until I heard it shift. But I have now found that I just need to give the lever one little movement and let go...shifts now smooth as butter. If you don't think that is your problem, I suggest taking it to a shop who will put the bike on a trainer so you can ride and shift gears while they check out what is happening. Good Luck!