Raced unattached as a 5, and got a feel for which teams did what at races. Some had numbers but just rode the race like a group ride (no animation or results). Some had cool kits but never were at races, or only had one guy there. Some had horrible kits.
So I picked a team I liked and did the "
meet the team" ride with them. Gives you a way to check it out without having to join right away.