i asked a similar question a few months back, but i finally have the cash to make a purchase and have revised my shortlist of bikes that i'm interested in after doing some research.

i'm basically looking for a bike that will spend:
80% of it's duty as a rear rack+pannier commuter
10% for longish weekend rides (also w/ rear panniers)
10% as light/medium loaded tourer (hopefully increasing the touring time in the years to come)

for all of the above, i'd say 90% of my riding is on the pavement (often rough/potholed), 10% on gravel/trails.

my last bike which was filling this role was a Surly Cross-check outfitted with full fenders, a rear rack and a granny ring, but, alas it was stolen last summer.
while i liked that bike, i'm looking for something of similar quality, but with a slightly higher headtube and stack (i like to ride with my drops at or 1cm below saddle height), and that might handle rack+panniers a little better, and most of all, won't break the bank.

in my research, i've narrowed it down to the following complete bikes, along with the prices that i can get them for:

- 49cm Fuji Touring ($699)
- 50cm Jamis Aurora ($730)

from experience and/or the listed specs, would one be better than the other for the the type of bike i'm looking for? in your opinions, which one has better overall components?