Originally Posted by
DanBell
Why not just do the longer hilly rides on your current bike? You could slap a slightly bigger cog on it to help you tackle the climbs. A decent cog doesn't cost very much. If you have a flip-flop rear wheel, you could put two different cogs on it. A smaller one on the fixed side for hammering out to the hills, then a bigger one on the freewheel side for climbing and descending. Just flip your wheel when you get to the first climb. This wouldn't cost much and would allow you to do the rides you want to do while you save more money and wait for the right deal on a used road bike.
^agreed. wait until you have some money. your drivetrain on the big box store bikes will cause you nothing but problems. also they're typically assembled by some box boy who knows nothing about bikes. therefore you would need to take it to a bike shop and spend another 50-100 having it set up correctly. i would look into investing in a flip-flop hub. Also i dont know your schedule but i would start trying to log at least 50-100 miles a week before considering buying a road bike. i ride a specialized allez elize columbus squadra edition and i log almost 200 miles a week on it, and i work 40-50 hours a week. (restaurant manager)
hope this helps