The Boulder '04 comes in two versions; the standard which has a steel frame and low-end parts, and the SE which is aluminum and has better parts (fork, rear derailleur and crank). The price difference between these two is neglectible, so the SE is a much better buy. IMO, it's a decent bike for starters. However, for just a little bit more money ($40 or so?) you can get the Rincon which has better derailleurs, better cassette and crank and is 8-speed instead of 7. Hope this helps.