I need help in picking my first bike...I do all of my racing as a trek mountain biker, but I have a hard time getting out on trails every other day, and the truth is I will be faster if I train on a road bike. I don't plan to do any regular racing on the road bike, but I will do some long tiring rides (training) during the week. I plan to get out every once and awhile with some roadie friends of mine and do some state line to state line rides, and maybe even a 3 day ride in August from West Virginia to Indiana. Therefore I will probably end up in some biathlons. So I need a bike that isn't real expensive, but one I can use in some races from time to time.

I don't know if you want to stay with Trek, but I just bought a Trek 2100. I like the look of the Trek and in researching the components the Trek 2100 had the best value for the money. The carbon seatpost and fork gives the 2100 a good ride which is especially nice for longer rides. Also the 2100 weighs around 17 lbs, which for a bike in this price range is one of the lighter ones and is nice for racing. In the future I can upgrade the shifters, etc. and basically have a 2300 if I want. I was looking between Cannondale and Trek...want to buy American whenever I can if the product is good so I can't tell you about other bikes.