I'm looking at buying a hybrid bike. Right now, REI has the Marin Kentfield on closeout for 280 USD but I have to pick it up at an REI store to avoid the 70 USD shipping fee. Problem is, I can only head over to the Virginia REI store around early October (I'm living in upstate New York right now). That means I will effectively only be able to really start using the bike next season (snow starts mid October to early November). I don't really intend to ride the bike during the dead of winter so is the deal good enough that I should pull the trigger now or will I find similarly good deals on comparable bikes come early spring? For around the same price, I can buy a Trek 7000 from the local bike shop which I would be able to use right away. Is there an appreciable difference between the Marin Kentfield and the Trek 7000? Thank you very much....as you can tell, I am a newbie.