Originally Posted by tjspiel

Is the Bianchi a "Volpe" by any chance? If it's in good shape, $500 isn't bad with a warranty. I think they're around $800 new. You mentioned it was a small frame. Was the bike shop thinking it was too small?

A cyclocross bike is another type of road bike and since you said that after your test rides you were leaning toward a road bike, I'd be tempted by this one. If I were limited to a single bike for year round commuting, I'd choose a cyclocross bike. They can accommodate a wider variety of tires than a typical road bike and they're built a bit tougher. The downside is that they're on the heavy side for road bikes, but a bike like the Volpe probably be still be lighter than most hybrids. The Volpe is also steel if I remember right which has nice ride qualities.

I think hybrids or commuter bikes make sense when you prefer an upright riding style and the cushier ride you get from wider tires. The downside is that you're not going to get where you're going as fast as you would on other types of bikes. If your commute is only a few miles, a couple of mph isn't going to make much difference anyway.

The bottom line is try few bikes and get the one that you think will keep you commuting week in and week out.