I'm somewhat new returning to this sport, my 7.5 suites me just fine. Right now I'm just working on getting into better shape, riding 4hrs a day now, and trying to increase my speed. I'm having a good time, and that's all that counts to me. I know I'll start losing weight, and when I do, that's when I might get a road bike. That's the plan for now. Seven months ago, if you asked me if I would be riding 40-45 miles on a bike, I'd have thought one of us was nuts, not now. 3/31/12 I went on a group trail ride and thought I wanted a road bike to keep up with most of the others, until two ladies older than I went right past me on mtn bikes about 20 miles into the ride. It was then I knew I needed to get into better shape before I moved to another bike. I've got 1982 miles on my 7.5 as of yesterday, and look forward to many more.