Out of curiosity, and because it is a possibility, would there be significant benefits to moving the price range up to about $800 a bike? If we do this we wouldn't want to upgrade again in a while. No point in making the mistake of cheaping out only to upgrade a year later again, losing money in the long run.

We already have sufficient lights. The bag situation is fine for now, but my bike would probably need a rear rack and panniers for groceries sometime in the near future. Also, right now we have little plastic rear fenders that use tension to attach to the seat post, these work fine, but a more stable unit would be required for the bike with a rack due to placement. The budget it prior to these additions, but some recommendations on a well priced pannier system would be great too.

Thanks for all the help.