appreciate all the insights, folks.

i moved to California this past summer and sold my GF Marlin rather than ship it.

i'm looking @ the 2011 GF Montare. beautiful bike.
the Utopia specs are OK but the Tektro Novela mechanical disc brakes are a tad on the low end. most of the shops around San Diego look to carry more Trek FX lines than Trek GF Collection. will probably have to special order the GF Montare.

i'm looking at the Trek FX line but i'd definitely prefer disc brakes.

also looks like the specs on the GF Hybrid 2010s were superior to 2011s.....