Sadly, I am trying to replace a stolen LeMond Poprad. I loved that bike, and it was perfect for me and my location in the Richmond district in San Francisco. It dealt handily with urban conditions, extended road rides, and spiriting me across the bridge to fire roads in Marin. I took it touring through France and Switzerland. I thought I might even someday try a cyclocross race. But now it's gone:
http://witchstolemybike.blogspot.com [except the URL starts with a familiar term for a female dog, rather than buoyant residents of Salem.]
I haven't updated the blog yet, but I subsequently found out it was likely stolen by a drunken/drug-addled coworker of my downstairs neighbors. The guy agreed to pay for it, but of course he's subsequently disappeared and I doubt the cops are going to be much help. I'm coming to terms with it.
Which means I'm in the market for a new bike. Maybe I'm too sentimental and weepy, but it seems wrong to get another Poprad and pretend like it never happened. But, in doing my research, I'm not finding too many other bikes that are such a good value. I've been thinking about a Soma Doublecross or Surly Crosscheck, but they're heavier in both handling and absolute terms, plus more expensive. (I'm older and somewhat wealthier this time around, so I wouldn't mind spending $1500-$2000 if it gets me a significantly better rig.) I like the ride of the Gunnar Crosshairs, but it seems to be a lot more expensive than a Poprad without much more good stuff. I am partial to steel for my type of do-it-all riding, even having tried some of the newer aluminum bikes with fancy forks. I would love to get a Rivendell Atlantis/Rambouillet or Ebisu or Vanilla or some other lickable semicustom bike, but it's not in my financial reality just yet. Not to mention I would have to sleep with such a bike under my pillow.
Anyway. I'm here to ask for suggestions on any other bikes to look into. If there really are no other contenders, then I might just get another Poprad anyway.