Hi msujack,

Unfortunately my price range tops out somewhere around $600. Possibly higher for a great deal but preferably closer to $500 so I have less explaining to do to the Mrs.

Ok, on to the second mini-review:

Bike: Nirve Brookhurst Commuter (with modifications)
Transmission: Shimano Nexus 7 speed gear hub
Brakes: Rim brakes (didn't check brand)
frame: 4130 chro-moly
tires: 700x32c (custom bikeshop addition)
Bikeshop Price: $950 ($750 stock)

The brookhurst is a pretty bike. The paintjob on it is really nice and it feels like a higher quality bike than the graduate (with one exception). Immediately I could tell that the brookhurst is faster than the graduate (even with the 32s instead of the stock 25s). That's not to say that it is necessarily better, but I definitely felt like I could ride at a good clip for a longer time on it. The nexus 7 is smoother than the Sturmey Archer 5 speed gear hub. I still had to slow down (or stop) my peddling at times, but over all it was more forgiving. The grip shifters worked better too. I did have a little bit of trouble in one of the gears but overall it worked pretty well. The brakes felt terrible after using the drum brakes on the graduate. They had great stopping power (at least when dry) but even compared to the rim brakes on my old bike they seemed rough. Compared to the drum brakes on the graduate there was no contest. Over all the bike was very nice and if it was in the $500-600 price range I would be seriously considering it. At $750+ it's not enough of a leap over the graduate for me to keep it in the running.