Hey all, I've been reading the forums for a bit now and pretty sure I have read all the important stickies and "i'm new and need help" type posts.

If anything has been drilled into my head it is to buy from a lbs and not online, and that above all, fit is most important.

My question relates to picking a lbs. I live in a city where a lot of people come to bike, but for whatever reason there are very few bike shops here. One is nice (both store and sales people), but pretty much only carries Trek and not a huge selection at that. The other store looked very empty, but I think they were in process of purging stock to load on up on new 2010 stuff. For my price range (under $1k) they only carried Orbea, and most of it was high end so they would need to order me something. Now I am sure they would just put it on the floor to sell if I didn't like it, but that just seems like a very inefficient way to shop for a bike. However this bike seemed to have the best ties to the local community, had weekly group rides and the shop owners took being friendly to a whole different level. I am talking offering me coffee while we chatted, making it a point to learn my name, and taking time out to help a complete newbie while working in a shop that obviously focused on more experienced/professional riders. The third bike shop....while they had the cheapest bike, a fuji newest 3.0....i wouldn't ever want to step foot in that shop again other than to make the purches. It reminded me of a run down used car lot and smelled like a sewer.

Now if I want to drive 30 minutes to an hour away I can find more shops and brands, but isn't that defeating the purpose of buying from a local shop who I can easily pop into and get involved with?

Also, any opinions on the Trek 1.1 or 1.2, Orbea Fleche, or Fuji Newest 3.0 would also be appreciated since those seem to be my only local options in the $500-1000 range.

Thanks for helping a newbie!