We can only advise based on our own experience. I spent $2000 on my first bike - a 2009 carbon Tarmac still sitting on the showroom floor in 2010. That $2000 I paid was $700 below suggested retail. It got me back into cycling in a big way and I've never regretted it. Found another good deal on a carbon bike for the wife.

As we rode, I learned. Eventually I converted my garage workshop from motorbikes to bicycles. I learned to adjust, repair and replace various components on both bikes. After a while, I had enough skills to purchase classic and vintage steel . . . . and to make them new again with better brakes, better shifters, new paint, new derailleurs, and so on.

And this, for me, became the pleasure in cycling.

I hope that, like me, you'll first find a good, new bike you can ride every day. Then, I hope you'll develop the skills to work on it yourself. Then, and only then, I hope you'll find a classic old steel-framed bike that needs you as much as you need it.

There's a healthy addiction out there, waiting for you. Best. DB