Thanks everyone for the replies. I've learned a lot about bikes in the process. Stars aligned today after spending the last couple of days calling bike shops getting denied and even laughed at I luckily found a bike in my size, in my budget, and even with a pretty decent set of components. After riding it in the parking lot at the shop for probably wayyy too long and then taking it on its maiden short but sweet 6 mile ride I am blown away by the modern bike technology. Looking forward to putting many miles on her. Thanks
zen_ for mentioning it. I had come across the Jamis Renegade in my searches but didn't think much of it at the time. Then on second look it seemed like it really fit the bill. Now a proud new owner of a Jamis Renegade S3.
Id share a picture but apparently I need to have a couple more posts to do so.
