Personally, I agree that the 1000 offers no inherent advantages over other low-end bikes, and you may pay a premium for the Trek name. I'm sure the frame is reliable, as are comparable Far Eastern frames from companies like Jamis and Fuji -- and the other brands may offer better value in their other parts selections.

I think the bottom line with a bike like this is the service from the bike shop, and with a $400-500 bike I'd choose on the basis of which shop offers better set-up and after-sale service.

Wheel setup is particularly critical on low-end bikes that come with machine-built wheels in the box. Many shops will just check them for trueness and then slap them on the bike, resulting in a high incidence of spoke-breaking other trouble down the road. A good shop will go over each wheel with a tensiometer, and also stress-relieve the spokes.

As for Sora, there's nothing wrong with it except the shifting limitation (can't shift from the drops) noted upthread, and the fact that the shifters are limited to an 8-speed cassette, so if a component upgrade is a future possibility I'd consider a 9-speed bike to start with.

RichC