So I traded in the Giant Escape I bought last month for a 2012 Giant Avail Composite 2. http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/....2/9047/48930/

I got it for 1300. I feel like I got a pretty good deal, but i'm so new to this so i don't really know. I did change the pedals to shimano multis with a clip on just one side because i'm not really confident about clipping in and where i live there are loads of hills (I am not ashamed to say I get off the bike and walk it up the hill if i'm dying).

My questions are:

1) Did i get a pretty decent bike? I can find NO reviews about this bike on the net which concerns me a tad.

2) What kind of shoes do you recommend for clipping in when you don't want to spend a fortune and aren't super confident yet?

3) Any general advice for a newbie???