ForTheGlory

Hi all,

I'd like to buy a bike to start commuting to work and have been a bit overwhelmed by the options. I am not at all knowledgeable about bikes, I probably haven't ridden one in a decade, but have been doing some reading lately, and went to my local bike shops over the past two days. I've got a handful of options and was wondering if anyone could provide some input that may help me narrow it down? Here's what I've got.

Bike's primary use is for a 1 mile commute, I hope to start using it to do rides around town for exercise as well. I'm not looking for anything high end, but want something reliable (no Walmart bikes). I don't want to go over $500 but am perfectly happy spending less if thats all I need to spend. Here are the options the bike shops showed to me.

Jamis Coda
Jamis Coda Sport
Giant Escape 3
Cannondale Quick 8
Specialized Sirrus
Kona Dew

Online Option
Brilliant Astor (7 speed) - I've been intrigued by this option due to it having an internal gear hub in a bike in my price range, which from what I have read is a nice feature for commuting (I am open to hearing dissenting opinions, the guy at one of the local bike shops didn't care for internal gear hubs). At first I also liked the idea that this bike is steel whereas most of the other ones are aluminum, but then I dug deeper that it is 1020 steel and everything I read implies that particular type of steel isn't very good.

Does anybody have any comments (good or bad) about any of these or insights? Should I just be buying one of the basic ones (Jamis Coda or Giant Escape 3) for my short commute, or is it worth to consider stepping up $100-150 to get one of the more expensive options on my list?

Thanks in advance!