Went to Sports Basement in Sunnyvale today to test ride some bikes. Kevin, one of the bike shop guys, was very helpful. Tried a Felt F75, a racy aluminum bike with carbon fiber seat stays and fork. The ergos were all wrong for me. The crossbar was the only comfortable hand position. Trying to grab the drop bars was like trying to touch my toes! And the reach to the levels seemed too long. Even the seat felt (no pun intended) a little narrow. Then I tried a Cannondale Synapse Alloy 5, a “comfort” bike with an aluminum frame and carbon fiber forks. What a difference! I sat up much taller, which would work against me in head winds, but the reach to the bars and the levers was much shorter, which would help everywhere else. The seat was wider, too, which gave me more support. I was told by an experienced cyclist that the all-aluminum frame would be a harsher ride, but the seat must have made up for it.
Then Kevin gave me a short tutorial on pedals. They’re much simpler than mountain bike pedals, probably because roadies don’t have to worry as much about mud and dirt getting into the pedal/cleat interface. I’ll probably go with midrange Shimanos. We didn’t talk about shoes, but I’ll probably go midrange there too.
I’m going to look at some other brands before I buy, but right now, I don’t think I could go wrong with the Cannondale.