I have a Trek 1500 and it is great. I absolutely love it. I went on a group ride on Sunday for 40 miles. Almost everyone there was riding carbon and complaining about the evil roads. I agreed with them that the roads did leave a little to be desired, but I felt that it was nothing to remark about. It could just be that I am use to riding more rough roads.

Go to the LBS and ask them if you could test ride those bikes for, say 1/2 an hour each on the roads. That should give you a better idea on how comfortable they are. If your LBS does not permit this, find a new one.