Originally Posted by GerryinHouston

Starting (or getting back into) biking is a process that develops over time. In the beginning you want a nice, comfortable, upright bike like the Edgewood (or my Trek Verve 2). If you take to biking and start getting into shape and increasing the distances, you start discovering the limitations of the nice comfortable, upright bike. As your core strength increases, the more aggressive, less upright stance becomes more desirable for the longer distances. It is a progression.

When I got back into biking last year, I tested the Diamondback Insight (as a matter of fact I wanted a Diamondback, since my previous bike was a Diamondback Parkway and I loved it). The verdict was that it was not very comfortable or upright enough. I ended up buying the Trek Verve 2. That was August last year.

By March, I was ready for a drop bar bike due to finger numbing in rides longer than 15-20 miles. I still like the Verve, I ride it in town occasionally, but for anything over 15 miles, I ride the Randonee. I don't think I could have started with the Randonee. It took time (and increase in fitness) to progress from the comfortable, beginner stance to the more aggressive, long range stance I use now.