Originally Posted by
GFish
Have you considered steel?
I've only test ridden a few aluminum bikes and didn't like the ride; to much vibration and jarring, you feel every bump. The Cannondale Synapse aluminum was an exception, the ride was closer to steel, but it doesn't have fender or rack mounts.
Have no idea what your budget is, but if you're also considering touring, perhaps this bike will fit your needs.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/tourist.htm
One of the reasons I've considered getting an older beater is that fact that they are steel but I'm of two minds about that. As for a fixie. Somebody at my LBS mentioned that to me and it's something that I haven't tried. The idea of a lot less maintenance is appealing though.
The Synapse has a carbon front fork plus Cannondale has done a lot of work to improve the ride quality on some of their alloy bikes. I've been considering something like a Specialized Allez but something like a Synapse could work. The more aggressive geometry shouldn't be too much of an issue since I'd probably be doing shorter distances in the rain that I would normally consider with the full carbon Roubaix. Ah well, decisions, decisions...