OK, now here's the rub. After checking out the bikes in the list offered above (many thanks to gestalt_assault), I realize that this bike IS the best deal in a bike of its kind (except for maybe the Marin Hamilton 29er, assuming you can get a bigger chainring on it).
Now the biggie: does anybody have any suggestions as to logical, legitimate arguments I can use to explain to my wife (yep, there you have it) that $600-800 is actually not an exorbitant amount of money to spend on a quality bicycle? To her, I've "already got a bike," and as with many (most?) people, her concept of bike pricing is defined by the prices she's seen on wally-bikes. So far, I've used:
-Lighter bikes are easier to ride and make daily use (in place of car) more likely.
-A bike like this one will save me in the long run in maintenance costs.
-A bike of this quality will ultimately command a better resale value than my current high tensile road-bomb.
...and I'm getting nothing but glazed-over eyes and a bunch of "yeah, I don't know..."
Sorry if this is going off-topic for this forum, but some of y'all HAVE to have dealt with this at some point. And don't tell me to leave her - not gonna happen.
(Oh, and if you know anybody wanting to unload a 20" Trek Soho S, please point them in my direction.)