How much of a difference does a bike upgrade actually make?

[nuliajuk]

Regarding the upright position (high head tube), don't forget that you can always flip the stem so that it slopes down instead of up. That lowers the bars considerably.
If there's a Look dealer nearby, have a look at the 566. I absolutely love mine. Here's the geometry chart:
http://www.lookcycle.com/media/uploa...s/GEOM_566.pdf

http://www.lookcycle.com/en/it/route...-new-bike.html

[nuliajuk]

It's what they'd probably call a sportive bike in Europe. Designed more for enthusiasts who just want to enjoy riding than for full-tilt racers, extremely comfortable on our rough potholed and frost-cracked roads. Flattened top tube, chain stays, and seat stays similar to a Cannondale Synapse for comfort.
That being said, it corners on a dime and if I were still racing I'd use it as a crit bike. It has the unusual property of being both straight-ahead stable and quick steering and lively.

[Trek420]

Sounds like a great bike.

Sounds like a great bike.

Thought about the wheels? One of the most effective upgrades is lighter faster wheels.

[fallstoclimb]

I just wanted to update everyone and say that I am officially bike shopping

Online, at least. It's tough to find many 48s in stock, so this is going to be a long project. Shopping for my first road bike was so overwhelming because I just had no clue what I wanted - I'm not sure if its better or worse now that I have a much better idea of what I want!

[fallstoclimb]

I've started test riding! I actually have a spreadsheet I'd be happy to share if anyone is interested, although I will say my 'impressions' on each bike are mostly just based on gut feelings

A lot of bikes I've just test ridden around the parking lot and have been able to tell they are not for me. I've got a couple in mind I may take on longer test rides (Bianchi Impulso and Trek Emonda), but I still want to track down and test ride the Specialized Amira, Cannondale SuperSix Evo, and CAAD10 before I start narrowing down the list.

It turns out it is challenging to find bikes in my size but not impossible. The Cannondale ones are the only ones I'm having real trouble with, but I think if I venture down to the high-end shops in DC I'll have some luck there.