Looking for opinions from people who’ve used certain bikes for commuting – sorry, it’s another of those threads.

I’ve got an old Cannondale CAD 8 that’s been tinkered with over the years so that it’s very comfy for group road rides. Specifically, it’s got a wing bar with an Ultegra 10-speed drive train and a Brooks B17. I experimented with three or four different handlebars before settling on this one, and the Ultegra hoods seem to be wider than some others, which allows me to spread the weight of my hands over a slightly larger surface area, making that aspect surprisingly more comfortable. It’s a 63cm frame and fits a 35” inseam/37” cycling inseam really well.

Anyway, I’d like to be able to put fenders, a rack and bags on the bike and carry rain gear, lunch and a pair of shoes and that won’t work very well with the Cannondale. A number of people have recommended touring bikes, so I went to the LBS over the weekend and rode a Surly Long Haul Trucker. It had an upright seating position, which I liked (as I’m, how you say…old), but the stock bars are very traditional and the Tektro brake hoods felt like something out of the ‘70s. I was surprised how much difference the skinnier hoods made. I know I can change the bars and wrap the shift cables part way up the bars (another thing I found kind of odd – having the shift cables sticking out of the bottoms of the bar-ends) but would rather avoid doing that if possible.

Of course, I kept trying to shift with the brake levers the same as with the STI levers on the Cannondale, and I know I can get used to the bar end shifters, but was expecting to be won over by the LHT and was surprised not to be.

So, has anyone else been through this? I know I’m kind of whining about the small stuff, but don’t really want to put down $1,500 for a new bike, rack and some bags and wish I’d gone another direction.

I also wouldn’t be averse to one of the Trek FX bikes, a Fuji Absolute, Jamis Coda or something similar. I rode a Trek FX2 and thought it might work well. Maybe throw on a Jones H-Bar or something. If anyone has had another touring bike work well for them as a commuter, please feel free to chime in. Maybe a Trek 520, Kona Sutra or Jamis Aurora? I know it boils down to personal preference, but I’d be interested in anyone’s input on any of these bikes or others that have worked well for you, drop or flat bars. The bike will also be used for jaunts to the store and around town. I have vague aspirations to do some medium or long-distance touring in the future, but probably nothing will come of that.

My commute is only about eight miles each way, part residential streets and partly over fairly busy 40 mph roads with shoulders (mostly). I put some skinny tires on my old Gary Fisher Marlin mtb and it was pretty miserable – not too comfy and was able to spin out of the highest gear pretty easily on a slight downhill.

I know there's a lot of threads on this subject, but I’ve been looking through the Commuting and Touring forums and didn’t see much specifically on this group of bikes. If I missed something, please point me in that direction.

Thanks/cheers!