Originally Posted by HiYoSilver
Ok, only one itsy, bitsy, tiny, winney problem. One bike won't do everything. Go fast as I can and go on dirt and gravel roads don't work well together. At least not in your budget. The ideal bike for this is called a cyclocross, but is about $500+ more.
Sorry I was at lunch when I replied so I didn't get a chance to elaborate when I replied. When I say go as fast as I can, I merely mean whatever speed I can push myself to do, but I don't expect to be blazing fast. Honestly I just got back from test riding the Tassajara and the 4500 and just tooling around in the neighborhood is fast enough for me for now. Yeah maybe down the line I may want to go really fast but for now as a out of shape beginner I don't expect to go fast. I would actually say for now I would say my speed would be 5-10 and maybe 11-15 but definitely not at a constant until I get into better shape.
Originally Posted by HiYoSilver
No curb jumping and no open field riding, means you don't need nor want rear or front suspension forks. They will slow you down and gain you nothing.
Terrain mostly level, means you can get by with closer gear combinations.
Go fast means thinner tires, like 700x23 or 700x25. Go over gravel and rocks means wider tires, like 700x35 or 700x37 or 700x42. [700mm is the diameter. x## is the width of the tire in mm. 1" is 25.4mm].
I can see myself going a little off road and I would rather have the option than limit myself to not being able to. I think I would feel more comfortable on a wider tire also.
Originally Posted by HiYoSilver
Wet climate, means you need disc brakes, especially if you're going fast.
My recommendations. Forget fischer, doesn't match your need. I can't believe this. I'm recommending a hybrid. Excuse me for a moment, a barf is coming. Ok, Trek would be the 7.5 Disc for $800. It has nice inbetween tire size: 700x32. Great price, but I would ask the LBS to swap out the rear 11:32 cassette for an 11:27 or 12:27. You don't need the extra gears and the closer range cassette will make riding a lot more fun. Second option, would be the Kona Dr Dew, $1,000. Like I said before lots of people here have that bike and I haven't heard anything bad about it. It does have the disc brakes for your wet environment. Disadvantages are wide tires and wide rear gears. Here have LBS swap out the 700x70 mtn tires for road tires about 700x32. Also swap out the 11:32 rear cassette for a 12:25 or 12:27, like jake the snake.
Third choice would be jake the snake. It's disadvantages are 1. cost and 2. it only has 2 chainrings on front, a double, instead of a triple. But if all this is outweighted by speed, consider the Specialized sirrur pro for about $1600 or the Cannondale Bad boy disc for $1000.
Considering everything you said, I would make it a toss up between the Trek 7.5 disc for $800 or the Dr Dew for $1,000.
Ride them, ride them, then you will know. Have fun...
Hybrids were what I went out looking for when I first started but truth be told I have yet to see one. They always end up showing me mountain bikes but oh well. They are having a 10% off sale tomorrow night so I figure I will go buy then just because I am getting to the point where I am tired of looking. It really has come down to the Trek 4500 and the Fischer Tassajara. Thinking about it I really didn't notice a difference which I spent about an hour test riding them on the street only which I know makes a difference. Paint wise I prefer the Trek 4500 which I know is not the way to pick a bike lol. The employee commented that on the Tass the front suspension wasn't nearly as compressed as the Trek 4500 which he said was about 50% when I was on it but I don't think I noticed a difference. Can I say difference one more time lol?
Trek 4500...$479.99
Fischer Tassajara...$699.99 -10%