We did hit up a bike shop, and I sat on a Trek 1.2 and a Specialized Allez. Both felt good; I liked the Trek better for the fender clearance but found out afterwards that it comes with 2203 brifters, not Sora like I thought. I might have to try out the Pilot 1.2 instead.

I don't plan on riding in the driving rain; but I don't want to to say "can't ride now, it rained an hour ago and I don't want to get wet". In those murky dog days of summer the roads can stay wet in the evenings, and there are puddles to contend with. Sure, I could just harden up; I'll be sweating a lot anyhow; but I want fenders. Afterall, I can always remove if I want to--but it's hard to put them on in the first place if the bike won't take them. I've also given some consideration to a CX bike, but they often come with rather limited gearing for what I want (hill riding), and they're not stocked around here at the moment.

Wife has no intention of riding in weather that requires fenders, though. Just me. I commuted in college right through a Maine winter once, and while I wouldn't want to deal with ice on a road bike, I wouldn't mind doing it again. Maybe not at 10F though--that was too cold for me. The warmer days last month got into the 40's, and I loved hitting the road--I didn't care about dodging the slush, but the fenders went a ways towards comfort.

I'd love to get a lighter bike. I pedaled my 27lb bike last summer, though; I cried a bit, nearly threw up a time or two, but managed. During the night-time rides, though, I'd toss in a 7Ahr SLA to power the 20W headlight--I didn't bother weighing the bike! A typical 20mile ride has 750-1000' climbing, depending upon route (and if you trust Google maps or not).