Originally Posted by
treadtread
Tonnes. Just call up local bike shops and ask - you should get new 2012 bikes at your price point. A few names:
Specialized Sirrus, Trek 7.1FX, Trek 8.1DS, Giant Escape, GT (forgot the model name) in Performance Bike and so on.
All great suggestions.
The GT line most comparable to those is the Tachyon series. They are flat bar road bikes. Sometimes classed as fitness bikes, whatever that means. The low end model (4.0) is labeled a "comfort bike" on the website, which I think is very misleading. It's not laid-back like a Townie or Voyageur. I'd like to have a Tachyon, myself.