This will be my first road bike, and I'm relatively inexperienced. I'm 6'1-6'2'', and from the sizing session I had, I'm looking for bikes between 58 and 61cm. Keeping the cost down is important, but I don't want to sacrifice major leaps in quality or features. I could really use some advice differentiating these bikes I've picked out, or maybe even some good options I haven't seen if they're out there.
You're not sacrificing anything with any of these bikes. Well, the Trek has an aluminum fork, but I doubt you could tell the difference in riding them. I do think the Trek has nicer wheels at this price point.
Just ride them and find the one that makes you want to ride it some more.
One bike has a triple chainring set up and the others are the typical double. The difference really depends on what type of terrain you will be riding on. Select which better fits the type of roads you will be on. Also, test ride each bike and select based on what fits the best and feel most comfortable with all of the parts. The lower priced bike may not stay that way if you end up replacing the saddle or the stem, or crank arms to get a greta fit
I'm definitively a proponent of buying vintage bikes, especially for new riders. 1.) The lugged steel frames are bombproof. 2. Inexpensive ones are easily found and fixed up for next to nothing (usually a cleaning and regreasing will suffice, new tubes and tires never hurt either) Which makes it hurt less if you find you don't like cycling as much as you thought you would. 3. Since you're a taller guy, you should have no problem finding one that fits you, because I've found that a lot of the ones for sale are sized for guys larger than I. (I'm 5'9.) 4. Downtube shifters, IMHO, are the easiest to adjust and fine tune.
