Ok so I didnt fork out the the $700+ for a better bike shop bike. I went ahead and bought the schwinn at question. My friend and I decided to both get it as a starter and progress from there. Luckily we are almost the exact build..6'1-6'2 200lbs or so. Before I go any further. I appreciated the knowledge gained from this thread and will revisit this when more question arise. I like that VX forums can be a one stop shop for sometimes more than just VX info. As soon as I was having troubles deciding I thought..good post for Vx.info.

So the Schwinn Varsity rides nice. I have over 20 miles on it in 2 days, from riding to work and back and to a store and back. I did an overhaul of the whole thing with my allen wrenches and screw divers, re adujusting, tightening and anything possible to make sure it was on right. It came in the box needing the front tire, seat post, shifters and front brake installed. I liked it this way. The only thing is the alignment was off but a simple fix. Only thing I needed was a computer and I was good to go. I hit a decent hill and did not have to stand up, but there more hills to come and quite larger. Shifters shifted no issues, I went through the whole line of 14 a couple of times. The tires at 100psi stayed. Only issue is maybe the handle bar is lower than comfort level?

As far as seats...is firmer better for a road bike? Any pointer to look for?