Originally Posted by
fishboat
Perhaps focus on simply riding before worrying about the minutiae of a few grams and upgrading a new bike. At your stage it's all about you and not the bike..buy a decent used bike..ride a few thousand miles while educating yourself..and then worry about how best to drop $3k.
I would second this. Unless $3k is a trivial amount of money, I'd spend some time riding something used. After you've ridden a while, you'll have a better idea of what attributes are important to you and what fits you best.
Also check the weight ratings on the bikes your looking at. You may be over the recommended limit for some of them.