Here is a piece of advice that has served me well when I got into cycling, "Try before you Buy". If you have a Performance bike shop anywhere near you then go check out the bike. Also if you decide to buy online you will need wrenching skills on "any" bike from Bikes direct. More than likely the wheels will need to be trued and may or may not be dished correctly. Many of the bikes will come to you in the same box the factory ships them to a LBS in and will require the same amount of assembly. If you "know" everything you want to know about the bike ordering from BD might be OK. But it is a bit like getting things from Pic-N save. Flip a coin and take your chances.