The more I'm looking into what's available, the more I'm leaning towards that Jamis. Like you said, it's basically everything I'm looking for, is relatively inexpensive, and is from a quality mfg.

I had tried setting up something similar on my current mtb. I already have a few inches drop from my seat to my bars, and I have narrowed my bars quite a bit. However, in my particular situation my bike's geometry still makes me feel like a sail on top of a ship in any amount of wind. Thanks for the link though, after looking at my bike for a bit I decided to try and flip the stem over so it's angled down instead of up. I'm going to try this out the next couple days to see how it feels. It definitely dropped down the bars quite a few inches, so it should give me a better riding position than before.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have always considered getting something with disc brakes, but after having gone through an entire year of commuting with my current setup I don't think the extra cost and weight would be worth it to me. Surprisingly, I have never found my brakes to feel lacking or inadequate for what I'm using them for. Also, my mtb is a hardtail, I replaced the front fork with a steel Surly 1x1 (which has slightly lowered the front of my bike), I have narrowed my bars as far as I can to still allow for the brakes and grips, and my tires are 1.25" wide street tires running at 100PSI

I haven't liked a lot of the links / bikes on BikesDirect, but that is one nice looking ride, especially in that matte titanium color. However, it is an aluminum frame. It would be nice for speed, but with my current commuter I know how sharp bumps in the road can be There's a couple railroad crossings I go over on longer stretches of road, and I have to drop quite a bit of speed before coming to them. I'll have to take that into consideration against the price.

I really appreciate the info and your offer, but I don't think I could take you up on that. I'm in the west burbs, between O'hare and Schaumburg, work nights, and don't have access to public transportation or a car I'm 6'4", ~200lbs, and wear a 36" inseam. This is one more reason I'm looking for a new bike. When I bought my current ride many years ago I didn't have a solid grasp on properly fitting a bike to a rider, the sales guy seemed a bit of a pushover to make a sale, and on top of that I bought my mtb for the offroad riding I did at that time, so the frame is considerably smaller than something I would prefer for someone my size riding on nothing but pavement. Now that I'm armed with all the extra knowledge I've gained in the past few years, and know exactly what I'll be using the bike for, I'm trying to use this opportunity to find a bike which precisely fits me and my requirements.