I started looking at road bikes a month or so ago, I'm really tired of pushing along my full suspension mtn. bike on road rides; and I seemed to be riding road a ton due to the convenience.

My intention was to go to the bike shop and find out which frame size I'll be needing and see what price range I would like to shop in (I was willing to spend 1000-1200).  The kid at Gilles who was talking to me pointed out a Specialized Allez that was used, but for only one ride.  The guy had bought it, then he got a job at the shop and wanted to buy a Trek since Gilles quit carrying Specialized (dumb move).

Anyways I ended up paying 650 for a bike that retailed at 900, it looks brand new I had no idea it was "used".

Can't wait for the spring season; I road today and damn my riding muscles are already wearing away during this winter season.  If theres some other road riders on these forums I'll be looking forward to finding on road riding bra's.

Also anyone have a good write up or advice on setting up bar angles, seat height and such? It's close but doesn't feel quite right.

I don't have any suggestions on aligning the bike since I have to do the same for mine, but assuming I'm living in Evansville this summer I'd definitely be down to ride.

I'd check out youtube. There's good DIY vids that help explain what and how Nice pick up

The absolute best thing to do is see a bike expert. They can measure you and fit the bike the best they can to you. But DIY videos work just as well, it just takes more time to teach yourself.

agreed. Experts can do it quick and take the trial and error out. I will say this though, if you aren't comfortable then the bike is set wrong to your frame or the frame is wrong to you. You can have a weird setup that most wont understand but if it's comfortable then it's right...get my drift? no? me either...

Got the second ride in today.  It's pretty comfortable but I think the bars need to be rotated forward a bit, it doesn't feel quite right when I'm on the drop section of the bars.  15 miles isn't near enough to really get a good feel though.  I'm going to need to get clipless pedals first, the foot traps are horrid.

I had no idea what I was missing out on, riding a real road bike on the street is so much more pleasurable and efficient then pushing along a mtn. bike, and my pace went from 13-14mph to 17-20 which I'm sure will get quicker as I get my legs back in the spring.

Pedal wise to anyone with an opinion; I would like to get another set of Time atac's so they match my mtn. bike and I can use the same shoes between the two.  Is there really any huge advantage to buying another set of shoes and road specific pedals? 

Not really, just preference. I just bought bontrager race mtb shoes for my road bike. They've got a composite sole for stiffness so your feet don't get hotspots like they would if you had soft mtb soles for a long road ride.

I prefer road shoes because they are covered with vents and my feet always get hot. They usually are not SPd style so therefore you cannot comfortably walk on them but how much walking are you really going to do when you get off of a road bike?