Well I've been to all 3 of the bike shops around me. One has 1 road bike under $1k, one has 2 Giants under a thousand that are worse deals than the s50, and the other I think i've found a bike I like. However, at that shop, the guy seemed like I knew more about the components than he did (he told me Tiagra was basically the same as Sora), and they also told me I get 1 free tune up and from then on tune-ups are $50 a pop... so same as REI.
Here's the bike they had in my size that I liked for $770
http://www.bicycling.com/gear/detail...2826-0,00.html
it weighed in at 24 lbs in the shop... and it also had microshift shifters, not shimano...
Would this really be a better deal than the S50? It seems to be not much better if at all.

I was looking at Trek bikes and the 1.2 has all Sora with a Tiagra rear derailleur for $750. Am I missing something, or is that a much better deal?
Sorry for all the questions and such I just really hope to make a good choice...