Originally Posted by
Slowhead
Your getting a lot of advice here. When I returned back to cycling I tried to make too many changes before I had put in the miles on the bike I had. After two years of consistent riding my body has adjusted. Don't get too wrapped up in bikes/parts right now. If the lifestyle/hobby grows on you, your taste in bikes might be quite different from now. Stick with it and have fun.
Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. My first bike I bought didn't fit right. In my case it was too big. Everything always hurt. I put it away and barely rode it for 5 years. I picked it up again, messed with things, tried riding it over several months but couldn't get past the aches and pains. I bought a bike that fit and suddenly I was able to go much further in comfort. It wouldn't surprise me if I could ride that bike now and be much more comfortable than I was at the time. But I may have never reached any kind of fitness if I hadn't found a bike that fit right early on when I was struggling with riding. I had advice on one section of bike forums to tough it out. That advice did not work for me.
I do agree that hardening up is part of the process. For example, I always figure that you have to give a seat a couple of weeks so you can toughen up your rear. But sometimes a bike just doesn't fit and makes it hard to find enjoyment in cycling.