Originally Posted by
MinnMan
American Euchre is entitled to his opinion, but this is the sort of advice that I think beginners should ignore. All the drive trains are usable and I don't think a beginner knows the difference. If the OP ends up getting really serious, his entry-level bike will be replaced by n+1 soon enough.
When I started riding again in 2009, I was quite happy with my 8 speed Sora drive train on a $600 steel framed road bike. I got serious and upgraded to an alloy bike with 10 speed 105. But in that first year, I wouldn't have known the difference. Or cared.
Buy a modest bike, ride and enjoy. Don't worry about the components. Yet.
And there are plenty of avid cyclists happily riding their 8 and 9 speed drive trains for years. Is 10 speed Tiagra or 11 speed 105 better? Probably, but unless you go with an Internet brand or run across a great sale, those bikes will cost $1,200 to $1,500.