Test drives today:

Trek 7.5 FX. -- loved it, was a little rough but I could get used to it. I liked the way it's geared. Seemed really fast. Very light, quick acceleration.

Specialized Sirrus Elite. -- liked it, but not as well as the Trek. Seemed heavier, but probably due to the triple ring crank. Not as fond of this one's gearing. The cables were concealed through the tubes, which was a nice touch.

Giant Defy 2-- I loved the way it handled and turned. The word "nimble" comes to mind. It's a very light bike. But that was all I liked about it. That must be a geometry thing, short wheelbase or something. Didn't like the drop bars, but that could just be a fit problem. This shop just wasn't as good as the trek shop.

The main thing is that I confirmed that the bike I've been riding is way too big for me. It's a 23" frame, and today I was testing 20-21" frames. Made a huge difference to me.

These shops do not stock the cute commuter bikes like I initially intended to test today. Maybe suburban stores are different than inner city stores. I dunno. I don't like being limited to so few floor models. The stock at the specialized dealer was meager. They're waiting for the 2015 models.