I am in the market for a new bike and was hoping to get the thoughts of others more knowledgeable than myself on the topic.

My use is almost entirely for commuting, with the occasional ride on the weekend. I will almost certainly never race. With that being said, my commute is ten miles each way, and I have wanted to get a faster bike in order to cut down on the approximately 45 minutes it takes me. Between having young kids and a demanding job, shaving 5 minutes off my commute is worth a lot to me. While I appreciate traffic lights, etc. have an impact on my commute time, I am on a trail for about half of the ride and there are several large hills that I suspect a lighter bike would do better on. While I am always on paved surfaces, there are certainly bumps in the trail from tree roots and lots of potholes in downtown DC, which is where I work. So, while I am tempted to get a fast road bike, I understand that may not be the best for these conditions. I have also been told that for my use, a race bike may not be the most comfortable ride.

Given this situation, does anyone have thoughts on what might make sense? My preference is to get something used for better value and to spend somewhere around 1,000. I know there are commuter bikes out there, but they all look heavy and slow. Is a CX bike the way to go? For context, I currently ride a mid-1990s Cannondale hybrid, which has been very dependable, but I expect has set the bar somewhat low in regards to performance. Thanks you in advance for any advice you may have!