All great points, I was willing to spend a lot more and the CrossRip LTD was in the $1800 bracket, out the door. No extras. I liked the feel of the Trek 7.4 disc mostly because it wasn't tiring on my back (war injury) and I can't see myself being all hunched over very long. The CrossRip did have a more upright position than the other bikes I tried. My target was about a grand, but am not stuck on that number. I will be riding my bike mostly in the dry summer, but will be doing some stuff up in the mountains (paved roads) and showers do happen there quite frequently. I do have a much older version of the Specialized Sirrus that has all 105 running gear and did lose it once on a long downhill in the fog....brakes just stopped braking, scared the Holy Heck out of me....will take discs now thank you. I don't mind spending a little more for a better set of running gear and would gladly buy the 7.5 or 7.7 if they had different brakes....Yes I know I am probably anal about this, but I can't get over it.

Any suggestions about where to go look?