Which Bike should I go with??
 

Which Bike should I get???
I am in the market for a solid commuting bike that will experience large and small gravel along with some loose dirt paths, but mostly road. I will need front and rear racks to hold bags etc. I prefer drop bars. Preferably STI shifters, but can live with end-shifters.

Please rank these 1-7 (1 being the best)

Or any advice at all


Fuji Touring
Jamis Aurora Elite
Trek Portland
Raleigh Port Townsend
Raleigh Sojourn
Raleigh Clubman
Civia Bryant

Thank you for your time!

which is sold in the shops where you live?, shop the dealer first.

fuji & Raleigh

The windsor tourist is the same as the fuji....

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/tourist.htm

just saying...


or I guess I should say "nearly" the same.

Of your list, I only have the Sojourn, but the other Raleigh's you list have, well, pretty significant differences. You need to define a little more clearly what you'd like, and why those particular bikes are shortlisted.

The Sojourn is an awesome loaded touring bike. Its weight is also on the high end as far as touring bikes go. I love mine, but I'd hate to be a position where I'd have to be hauling it up and down several flights of stairs every day. There are certainly people who use it for daily commuting, but if I had a choice, I would get something lighter for that purpose.

+1. Wouldn't want to purchase a bike you couldn't have serviced for free because you chose to purchase from an on line retailer or from a shop too far away! Support local shops first!

I like to Fuji Touring myself. I am personally getting a Redline 9-2-5 on Friday and is significantly lower in price and so worth it in my opinion! Is there any reason you are "choosing" from
bikes that cost so much for your commuter? I am not saying don't spend that, because, I know I will spend that on a bike but if your looking for a starter commuter I think it would benefit
you more if you were to purchase a cheaper bike but has everything you need. Plus, you could now purchase lights, bags, and etc.! Of course, that is assuming you are "new" to commuting
and have to purchase all of these products.

This is just my personal opinion of course, but, I think you should consider getting a cheaper bike! This is ultimately your choice of course. Go ride and have fun whatever you choose.

These are all great choices, and within those listed, I'd stay local and get one of the Raleighs.
The Jamis and Trek are worth a drive, if they aren't far. I really like that Jamis.

My personal favorite of the bunch is the Civia Bryant with the 8-speed Alfine, but I hesitate to recommend it not knowing more about your commute and your preferences.

I would be remiss in these forums if I did not add this venerable bike to your list of considerations

Part of the criteria to consider (in addition to what has been provided):
- Weather (rain? how frequently? Snow?)
- Terrain - hilly, flat, mountainous?

All of these bikes fit the "touring" and "Sport Touring" mold, which is very appropriate. It might be worth expanding the selections to include some "CX-like" bikes (CX inspired bicycles with more BB drop, eyelets for rack, fenders, etc). If the local shops have some of these available it is worth test riding some to get a feel for what suits you.
Examples of these cx bikes include:

Raleigh RX1.0
Surly crosscheck

Then there's the Salsa Vaya - sort of touring bike-meets cx bike and have a really sexy child:
Salsa Vaya


Of all of these, the Salsa Vaya and the Civia Bryant Alfine stand out as the two brightest stars, but they are all great bikes. I think you'd be happy with any of them, quite frankly.

with your budget, you are on the cusp of being able to build up your own frame. Food for thought:
Soma Saga (touring)
Soma Double Cross (cx)
Vassago Fisticuff
The above surly and salsa's are available as framesets (as is the civia)



For convenience, I've linked your original choices:

Fuji Touring
Jamis Aurora Elite
Trek Portland
Raleigh Port Townsend
Raleigh Sojourn
Raleigh Clubman
Civia Bryant

Local guy also deals REDLINE . What about the Conquest Sport or Conquest Classic?? any experience with these? Is REDLINE quality?

Ride them all and see which ones you like.

Bikes have many different qualities (i.e. speed, comfort, adaptability, ruggedness, components, frame material, etc.). When I went shopping for a new bike I looked at many different bikes.

One bike may rank high in comfort, but low in speed. Another may be high in adaptability, but moderate in price. You need to decide what qualities you want. Then rank those qualities that are important to you.

For example I bought a LHT a few years back. I compared it to the 520, T2, Volpe, Aurora, Tricross, and CC. The most comfortable was the T2, the fastest was the Tricross, the most adaptable was the LHT, etc. What I came away with was a bike that suited my purposes.

Just because I bought a LHT doesn't mean that adaptability was the most important factor to me. In fact it was about 2nd or 3rd. Comfort was 1, ruggedness 2, adaptability 3, price 4, speed 5, & components 6 or something along those lines.

However the bike did rank higher in a few categories I thought were important and lower in ones that weren't as important to me.