It is a decent bike. Those components are low cost. You rarely see grip twist shifters anymore on anything, except the stuff from the big box stores. If the metric you are planning to ride is hilly, you would be better to drop weight from your body than from the bike, at first. I started at 290, and am now at 240, and hope to be at 220 when I do my first metric (one with about 5000 ft of climbing), in Sept. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/897836

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.