Originally Posted by
kingston
I always advise people to get an aluminium frame w/105 for their first bike. It's good enough that it won't hold you back for the first couple of seasons. If you're still into cycling an a couple of years, you'll probably want a different bike anyway. If you decide it's not for you, then you still have a decent bike that you can take out from time-to-time but haven't spent thousands of dollars on something you don't use.
This is exactly what I did in the early 1990’s - an aluminum 105 version of a high-end road bike. The day I bought it, I told the shop owner I would come back after I put 5,000 miles on it to order the top-of-the-line carbon version of that bike. During those 5,000 miles I learned what I liked and didn’t like, and most importantly, I realized my aluminum bike was one size too big. On the day I turned over 5,000 miles on the bike, I rolled into the bike shop and ordered my dream bike. 25 years later I still have that bike (although, it is primarily a Zwift bike at this point, but it is still a great bike). Also, over the last 25 years, I have purchased many other high-end bikes (MTB, Fat, Gravel, etc.), and because I now know what I like they are all still in my bike rotation.