Originally Posted by
m_yates
I agree with that. The Jamis Aurora is a sensible bike, but I've never seen it in any local shop. No local shop that I know of sells the Surly LHT either. It seems like local shops only carry racing bikes, full suspension mountain bikes, or comfort bikes that are all completely impractical for commuting moderately long distances.. it depends, of course, on what you want to do with the bike, but for commuting I prefer drop bars, fenders, wide range of gears, and braze ons for racks. Any bike that allows those things would be good for me.
There are shops that specialize in "touring", but they are few and far between. I happen to live near one (Harris Cyclery) and I was able to "test ride" a Surly Cross Check, a Jamis Aurora and a Bianchi Volpe, all of which fit your definition of "sensible commuting bikes" (which happens to be my definition as well).
In the end, I found a used Cross Check on Craig's list, but of course I've had to spend considerable time and effort fixing it up the way I want it. If I'd bought a complete bike from the shop, it would be been a bit more expensive, but I would have been out on the road more quickly.
I'm sure that for many people, the "tinkering" aspect is important. Bicycles are pretty simple mechanical devices, and with a few tools and some common sense, you can learn to maintain and modify them.