My Friends all tell me I overshop on fairly big purchases. But I keep doing it.

I'm going to be a noob cyclist that has settle in on hybrid probably the Trek 7500 series. The question is should I get the 7500 or the 7500fx.

My last bike was a 1981 schwinn cruiser. It's hard to determine exactly what kind of riding I'll be doing because I haven't got the bike yet.

This is what I envision. Mostly street riding. I live in Los Angeles so I plan on riding trips down to the beach with a goal of training and riding around Palos Verdes (a fairly hilly area). I'm thinking at most a MINIMAL amount of trail/dirt road/path riding (hence the hybrid). Currently I am going to be riding mostly solo, although I do have one friend talking about dusting of his old bianche road bike and going out with me.

I'm going to checkout a 7500 (and maybe the fx) this weekend in my size (or at least I'm told this). I THINK I want the front shock but honestly I've never owned a bike with one so I really don't know. :confused:

Advice on the need or not front shock? How much will the extra weight affect me versus the extra comfort? If I decide to swap out the shock for a fork can that be done cost effectively? What should I look for when I test ride each bike? How do I know the LBS is getting me the right fit.

I think either 7500 might be a little too much bike but I tend to err on the side of spending the extra bucks rather then regretting it later.

Thanks all.