An important decision

[Crankin]

Off the top of my head, I'd say the bike is a size too small, because I am 5' 1" and I had the R600 for my first road bike in 2002. It was a 48 cm. and, I totally understand why you want a road bike.
The crappy components are what made me want to get rid of this bike after a year. Although my speed went from an average of 11-12 to an average of 14-15 after switching from a mtb with slicks, the bike never shifted right. I never could get it in the big ring. Ever.

[Melalvai]

I rode it some more today and kept adjusting the seat and adjusting the seat and finally got it barely comfortable. I decided not to get it. I think I would be fighting its size all the time with different stem, seat, etc.

I wanted a double instead of a triple just because I wanted more of a road bike.

My current bike would actually be ok with the people I'd like to ride with sometimes, except I have it weighted down with fenders, rack, lights, a more upright geometry, lots of things that sacrifice performance for comfort. It's set up as a commuter bike and it is not going to go fast. No, I'm not running out of gears at the top end. I just can't keep up with them, on my bike. Equipment does make a difference.

I think I can easily keep up with the ones who aren't super serious about it, after pedaling 1400 miles all over Missouri!

[Sky King]

Good decision, I am the same height as you and I ride at least a 52cm. So It sounds like you need to keep you racks, etc so you can commute, but you could look at different tires and perhaps a different wheel set to get a bit more speed out of the current bike.
A nice supple, folding tire can really boost your rolling speed. Here's a blog post w/ several links about tires, size and speed that may be helpful.

[Crankin]

I am not sure why you think you have to have a double for a bike to be a real road bike. Do you mean a traditional double (I really don't know anyone with one of these, unless they are racing or very young) or a compact double? I have one road bike bike with a compact double and another road bike with a triple. There's very little difference between the two.

[Melalvai]

I don't have to have a double. I just wanted one for the bike that would have been my road bike.

I don't think I'm going to get a road bike. I don't want more speed out of my current bike. It's set up perfectly for what I use it for. The only thing I can't do is a few rides, and there are plenty of other rides I can do. I just thought it would be fun to do those faster rides with a slightly different crowd. But I'm busy enough with fun stuff, I don't really need it.