As it stands, I'm actually commuting to and from work (15 miles) on my Fuji Team SL... While it's great fun to ride said bike, it's far from practical as a commuter. It's much akin to driving a Porsche 911 Turbo around town to do errands. Lots of fun, but just not practical. So I've decided to splurge and buy a nice commuter bike that I can put a rack & panniers on and actually be able to carry stuff with me that won't fit in a backpack. I'm looking for something with 700c wheels... can't decide between flat bar & drop bar, though. I've been looking at a few options, but I know there are others that I'm missing. Here's what I've come up with so far:
Giant OCR Touring -- $1250 at the LBS.. we have two Giant dealers around and I only checked one... it's a 2004 model and all they have is a large (I need a medium). I have no idea if they can find one in Medium for me and the LBS couldn't really check because it's a Saturday. It has everything I want in a bike... drilled for rack & fenders, disc brakes, drop bars, space for fat tires. Too bad there's no '05
Trek 7700FX $1175 at the LBS. I rode it and it was WAY too upright by default... it was comfy but I didn't like the position. Needs a longer, flatter stem. Drilled for rack & fenders, comes with 700x35c tires and the new XT flippy shifters. I'd also want to change out the cassette for something other than an 11-34. The LBS is willing to do whatever I want to accomodate me. Bike LOOKS super nice and is pretty light, too (he says 21 lbs)
Trek XO1 -- $1199 at the same LBS as above. Looks like it'd be a really fun bike to have, actually. I have a MTB already so I'm not sure quite what niche this would fit but I still kinda like the idea. He only had a 56cm and I really need a 54 at most. Also, I'm not sure the gearing would work too well. 38/46 isn't my cup of tea. 34/46 would work, though (it's a compact).
Specialized Sirrus Pro Disc -- unknown price as the LBS has none and the 2006 models are coming out soon so they're not even sure they can get more. I love this bike, though. Compact cranks, drilled for rack & fenders, carbon fork & stays (same as Trek 7700fx), disc brakes, carbon bars, carbon seatpost. SPD pedals. I'm just worried the 06 isn't going to be as nice.. or is going to be prohibitively more expensive. I think they were selling this particular bike for around $1350 previously, which is at the top end of what I want to spend.
So are those listed above my best options? Anyone have any better ideas? Oh, and for those of you that are thinking "wtf is he thinking spending $1500 on a commuter bike?", well bike theft isn't an issue and it's store indoors at home and work. I'm also completely incapable of settling for something inexpensive.
I'm looking at spending $1000-1500 plus whatever a nice rack and some killer water-resistant panniers will cost. Suggestions?