Hopefully this is the right place to post. For the past year I've commuted to work (up and down hills) 80-100 miles per week. I work a night shift so 80% or more of my ride time it's dark. I also managed to ride an additional 20 – 50 miles per week during the day running errands or just plain riding for the pleasure of riding. Hopefully with a new bike those non-work related miles will continue to grow. For me it isn't about the environment or the gas prices. I truly like biking. However, I've been doing this on my son's L.L.Bean Runaround Cruiser (700cc, 21speed made by Schwinn). I added fenders and lights, and had it serviced regularly but I have to say it was brutal riding at times. One of the local LBS's helped me get it fit properly but it has always felt like the bike itself just seemed to work more against me than with me. Anyway we were fortunate in that we had a mild winter that was more cold than snowy. I did however manage to get caught in a couple of snow storms and on a bike not really setup for that kind of punishment (no winter tires compounded by less than precise handlebar twist shifters, and the marginal v-brakes...). My wife thought I was crazy... or maybe I was just pig headed. To it's credit the bike held up through it all and I continue to ride it today.

I'm an older rider and though I can continue to make this bike work I think that it's now time to move up to something more rewarding. I'm not into spandex and I certainly don't have Lance Armstrong delusions. I respect the true roadies but that isn't my style of riding.

On a new bike I'm looking for... trigger shifters, flat bars – I've tried drop downs and they just aren't comfortable for me. I want to move up to disc brakes (hydraulic or mechanical). From what I've read the newer generation disc brakes are awesome. Most of my riding is on pavement so I think I can forgo a bike with front suspension. Also for front suspension I would be concerned about the durability specifically regarding road salt in the winter months though the current bike seems no worse for wear from this last winters rides. The new bike would get fenders and it's time for a rear rack so the bike also needs rack and fender eyelets.

Starting in late November the bike also needs to be able to accommodate appropriate tires.... maybe something like the Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240 Studded Tire - 700 x 40 as example, or something similar. I can't count on this coming winter being as mild as the last one.

I've been doing research on the internet and have started visiting local bike shops. My budget is about $1000. and the selection is fairly wide in that price range. As an aside I have to say that I couldn't help but notice that the real hard core road bikes were bright colored (vivid red, blue, and black detailed so sharp they look like they could cut you if you got too close...). The more utilitarian bikes (Hybrids commuters, etc..) tend to be black, white or some bland muted color. Just an observation. That's OK. I have to believe that the bright color rides locked in a bike rack would tend to get more attention from thieves. Of course the real roadies aren't parking in a bike rack they're in a pack on the open road.

My problem is that for all my research I don't really know enough about any of the bike lines to make what I feel would be an informed buying decision. The two LBS's that I've visited are brand loyal across their multiple offerings making it a bit difficult to glean real differences between their brands. I've found that their recommendations feel a bit generic. From showroom browsing these two LBS's I've gotten these recommendations...

Coda Elite
GT Trafffic 3
Scott Metrix 20
..and the ever popular Trek 7.3

This weekend I'll start riding them to see how they feel. The bike forums I've visited seem to be more back and forth banter among brand loyalists. Respectful of each others rides but not too surprising they have their own personal favorites as there's naturally a lot of pride in ownership. At this price level the component levels are none too shabby by any stretch of the imagination, and most of the bikes are utilizing comparable components anyway.

So, sorry for the long post but I guess the question is, given the comparable component levels it really does just come down to the bike fit and how it rides, and then final pricing to make the determination about whether you go with brand A or B... right ? There's no other driving reasons to choose brand A over brand B.

I'm a big fan of the Trek FX line. I had a 7.5 & have a 7.6 They are both great bikes. I'm not sure if they would fit the Nokian tires (there is a lot of room in there, but I haven't seen the nokians to know for sure).

All of the bikes that you listed come from decent companies, so I wouldn't be worried about getting one over the other. I'd look at how they ride, as that will be a big difference & I'd look at which shops you like the best. I'd go with the bike (of those that are the most comfortable) that comes from the shop that I was the most comfortable with.

You might check out the Trek Soho DLX. I have the non-DLX version, which I would *not* recommend becuase it doesn't have disc brakes. but the DLX does. flat bar, belt drive, internal gears - you might love it