Happy to help. Forgot to add: if the extra money isn't a big deal, then by all means get the nicer bike. However, if you are on a budget, a $700 bike goes a long way: ride the hell out of it for a year or two, and then upgrade to a nice, higher-end bike. You'll also know better by then what attributes you prefer in a bike in terms of stiffness/comfort/handling/preferred riding type.