I'm hopefully about to relocate to a new city that's much more bike-friendly. I haven't been on a bike in 15 years. Until a few hours ago (when I started research & found this site) I only knew about 2 different types of bikes- MTBs and road bikes. I want a bike for general riding around town (trips to the grocery, library, etc.) so I figured I needed a road bike. I thought this might be better if I decide to do more serious road cycling in the future.

After this evening's reading, I think what I really want would be considered a utility, commuter, Urban, or something like that. I think that this would make a good "starter bike", & I can get a road bike later if I really think I need one. On the other hand, a commuter that's more "road friendly" (perhaps lighter and faster) would be nice. So basically, I want a bike that's comfortable, has a full chain guard, fenders, racks, lights, etc. An internal hub & generator lights would be nice. I'd really like to spend $500.

The only LBS in town sells Schwinn. As I reviewed the major brands today, I thought Schwinn bikes were the best fit for what I'm looking for, so that's a plus. I really like the idea of being able to walk to the shop, buy a bike, & ride it home, plus having somewhere local to bring it back for maintenance and such.

The next town over has almost all of the other major brands represented.

These are the bikes I would like to look at so far:

Schwinn: the NX7 sells for $550 and has just about everything I'm looking for. I'd also consider the Willy (which I think is the best-looking bike on my list), the Coffee, the World S, and the World GS, all of which are under my budget.

Trek Belleville: $650. A little pricey, but all the extra features might be worth the extra money. I like the "Eco friendly" design, but I've heard reports that Trek is "greenwashing" a bit here.

KHS Green: I had never heard of this brand, but the Green sells for $349, which sounds like a great deal for its features.

Giant Suede GX: looks fairly similar to the NX7, for the same price.


So, I have two questions:
1) Are there any other brands I should be considering- ones that have the features I need for $500?

2) I really like the idea of supporting my nearest LFS, & I like a lot of the Schwinn models. Is there any reason not to go with the Schwinn I like the best?