Everyone must be out riding.
I'm not familiar with the two bikes you mentioned. I just bought a road bike from IBEX. The quality is comparable to a bike costing $300 - $400 more. They only sell over the internet or by mail order. Here's their web site:
http://www.ibexbikes.com/index.html
I had to make a couple of tweaks: 1. The rear derailler wouldn't stay on the smallest cog. Customer service walked me through the limit adjustment. 2. The front brake cable was a little too loose. I tightened it up by about 1/4 inch. 3. One of the spokes on the rear wheel was loose and ratteling around. I tightened up the spoke using the multi-tool that was provided but that put the wheel out of true. The LBS wanted $15 to true the wheel. Being the cheapskate that I am I Checked out Ken Kifer's (rip) article about doing your own wheel truing and gave it a shot. It took about 15 minutes and it came out pretty good if I must say so myself,
So far I'm happy with the bike. I have over 150 miles since last Wednesday.