I'm posting this in the commuting forum since people here come from all different walks of life (folding, mtb, road, touring).
Right now I have a Novara Forza (recreational MTB parts, hybrid) and a Mercier mini velo from bikes direct. I'm going to be giving away my hybrid to my brother, most likely, and so I'm currently looking at new bikes.
My budget is $1500-$1800. I went shopping for about 6 hours yesterday and test road about 4-5 bikes. Of those I liked the Kona Sutra and the Salsa Vaya 2. I really, really liked the Vaya 2. Unfortunately, the Trek store didn't have the 520 and there aren't very many options for CX at the stores I went to. I'm planning on trying the Surly LHT sometime next week, but the components seem rather cheap and I'm not going to be doing touring with 50+ lbs, at least anytime soon.
Here's "my story:"
- I have a bad back (herniated disc) so I'm not really into super aggressive road bikes. I want something decently fast so that I can maintain speed with my friends on our weekend rides. With time I'll become a stronger rider as well.
- I really like steel bikes, but am open to alloy. I'd prefer not to get a bike with a carbon fork since you usually sacrifice other things for that in my price range (if you can suggest something I'd definitely be interested).
- I do commute to work nearly every day and plan to do so in the winter (RT is only 3 miles)]
- I like disc brakes and definitely want them. BB7s are awesome!
- I may get into CX racing, so a CX bike is an option as well
- I may get into light (CC) touring
- I know I do want to do century rides next year (see #1: my bad back) so a wide range of gears is a necessity
- I like compact cranksets, but that's not a necessity
I've been working with my LBS to help customize a bike and get a quote; retail shops don't want to work with you when you wish to swap out components, for the most part. I don't mind getting something and upgrading components, but buying OEM is always nice since that's the best deal you can get.
Did I miss any other bikes (touring, road or CX)? I'm willing to take my time and when I'm on travel soon I may be trying bikes on the road.