Cannondale is a good brand, I almost bought a bad boy for commuting. Buy the bike that feels best to you.

I think the Cannondale Quick Speed 2 lists over $1000, the specialize just under so $850 for the Cannondale may be a good deal.. And it seems to have shimano disks which, to me, have a much better brake feel than the Tektro used on the Specialized. Otherwise they look about the same, there is some shifter and geometry differences.

There is a Quick thread around here somewhere.