Originally Posted by banerjek

For someone who has ridden coast to coast, I'm a bit confused as to how you haven't figured out a way to fit things for you.

In any case, first thing you need to do is find out what kind of bike you actually like, and you probably won't do as well if you try to guess things blind. So although you specifically want to avoid the LBS, I'd still recommend going to a few and test riding a few bikes to see what you like. Don't sweat not being able to tell the hacks from the pros -- the bike you like is the right one, and in any case, you probably know more than you think.