bikes

I am in the process of buying a bike. I am a mountain biker, and have never owned a road bike, so I'm starting from scratch. At REI I've been looking at the Cannondale Synapse.

It seems that if you talk to 5 different people about what bike to get, you will get 5 completely different opinions. One guy is saying the Synapse is the best bike for me, but the next guy (same store) says to stay away from aluminum and get a carbon or steel frame, for shock absorption. Some people say to get a touring bike, and stay away from the 'racing' bikes. I get all kinds of opinions.

I've heard that LeMond has good bikes. Maybe I'll try out the Sarthe.

I'll have to test ride a bunch of different bikes, and hope one stands out.