Road Cycling - looking for new bike Trek or Schwinn? or?

I am looking to buy an new bike real soon and have found two or three that really interest me. I currently have an older LeTour, which is my first road bike. I want to upgrade to something that is good quality, light, comfortable (for a bike), and fast ( i know the rider does that part). and will last a long time.
There are only two bike shops in our town. One is an old established shop (50 yrs), but it is a small place and not mainstream for road and mountain bikers. They sell Schwinn and can order Cervelos. The other shop is more like a department store, but has a lot of bikes, and a repair shop too. They sell Trek, Cervelos and maybe some other stuff.
Schwinn Fastback Pro is one of the bikes i am looking at. It seems to have a lot of great components. It has full Ultegra, with 9-sp 12-27 cassette. Ritchey Aero-Pro complete wheelset. FSA Carbon Pro triple w/52-42-30 rings. Schwinn carbon fork and carbon steerer. I tried a XL size in a regular Fastback and it seems to fit good, but may need to change stem. It only comes in Slate Gray. The shop says they will fit the bike to me. They want about $1400 for the bike.
I have read a lot of negative comments on this site about Schwinn in general, and this concerns me. I looked up a lot of old reviews on this model at "www.roadbikereview.com" and most were very positive on the actual bike quality and ride of it.
Trek 2300 or 2200 is the other bike i am considering right now. It really looks great and has about the same geometry in a XL size. They seem to have a higher tech frame with the Carbon seat stays. So I wonder if the ride would be better. Both of these Treks are almost identical except for the components. The 2300 looks to be all Ultegra and the 2200 mostly 105 with Ultegra derailluer. They both have a two chainring setup with 53/39 and a 12-25 cassette. The Bontrager wheels look more aero and seem to be good quality. The 2300 bike is $1900 and the 2200 is $1600.
I don't really have to buy/ride/own or be seen on a bike because of a name and don't want to pay more just for a name. so, i am willing to get the best bike for the price. I want to ride it more than look at it.
Any useful feedback or new information would be appreciated from the experience of all the folks on the site.
Thanks.

The Treks are great bikes as is the Fastback. Actually, it's the only current Schwinn I've heard really good things about. But in the range of $14-1900, there are a lot of options. Certainly in the aluminum frame with carbon fork/rear stay combos. Full Ultegra is certainly attainable in this range. Have you ridden steel? There are some great steelies in this range and, for a little more, carbon begins to become an option.

Keeping with Aluminum, I'd also look at Felts, Cannondale, Douglas and Specialized. And definitely look at the upper end of Iron Horse - they've been getting a lot of attention.

The key is to test a different bikes and really get a feel for what fits best for you. Can't go wrong with where your at with the Treks and the Fastback, but unless you try some others, you won't be sure to maximize your potential.

55/Rad

at the 2300 price tag - you can get a TCR 2 Composite by Giant, that offers full Ultegra and composite frame and fork.