My oppinion is that the bike is very good. To state what I like about it would be to repeat all the specs. I had no idea that GT had such a model, it's bookmarked.

GT's lost some creds. the past years, as has Mongoose which I tested awhile back.
Just an obervation, like your observation about the discs. Neither of which seem to be at all inferior. I like drop bars. It has bar-end shifters, effectively reducing the price by two hundred, no problem there. Tecktro is a big name in brakes, mech. brks. should be fine, for that matter I've no problem with reg. brakes. At 368, brakes were the least of my problems.

Can't go wrong I say. Jamis makes the Aurora, a good bike, it has Br-lev-shifters which as I stated add to the price. A good. easy site to view, just check-out the 2009 listings rather than the 2010 PDF. Fugi makes their version of a Tourer that costs more than yours. Fugi's site messes with my PC so if you have a Fugi or Jamis dealer near you Ck'em out. I kind of like the GT though, the specs say why.