My rule of thumb for beginning ANYTHING potentially as expensive as biking: Save your money, buy used. If you like the sport, sell it and add some cash and buy a new bike. After a few thousand miles, you will have a definite idea about what you do and don't want in a bicycle and can find a model that best suits your riding style and mindset. My first RB was a Fuji S-10-S from 1974 (rebuilt myself), my second was a Trek 1200 and I just bought another S-10-S to rebuild as a touring bike. I had the chance to use a more modern (read: straighter fork) road bike and found that I very much preferred the stability of the older fork style and the give of old steel.