I was in the market for a winter commuter. I don't have budget constraints other than sensibility. I thought $750 would get me a nice, new commuter. I ended up with a $1000 Trek FX 7.5 with Disc because I thought the components were better than the 7.3 Disc. My 2003 aluminum with crabon fork road bike was only $1500 with Ultegra and I didn't feel like spending more on a winter bike than on my road bike. CX bikes are more expensive in general and I crossed those off my list. Now my road bike is jealous and it wants to be upgraded to a Madone 5.2.

I'll use the hybrid for commuting only and other than consumables and good cleaning from riding in wet conditions, I expect it will last for 20k miles. That's a lifetime of riding.