I can't decide, please help!
 

I'm looking to get my first bike. It'll be an everyday bike for urban/commuter/road purposes, and I've narrowed it down to a few bikes. Which is a better buy? I'm open to other suggestions.

1) 2016 Cannonade Quick 1 Disc
- $1,300.00
- http://goo.gl/x6tyqI

2) 2017 Giant Contend SL 1 Disc
- $1,315.00
- https://goo.gl/Bl6Cqr

3) 2016 Specialized Sirrus Comp Disc
- $1,200.00
- https://goo.gl/Uxf1Ju

4) 2017 Trek Crossrip 2*
- $1,580.00
- CrossRip 2 | Trek Bikes
- unsure of the semi-hydraulics

They are all more than capable. Personally I would only be choosing from the two with the drop bars. The giant is an 11 speed while the Trek is a 10.

Cassettes are similar (11-34 Trek, 11-32 Giant)
Trek has more capable tires. 32c while the Giant is more road size: 25c (though still able to go off road).

Since you listed road riding as last of the 3 uses I would vote in favor of the Trek.

If you plan to spend very little time on the road you will be fine with any of the 4. But if you do plan on raking up some road miles ditch the straight bars.

The Giant Contend is brand new for 2017 (not even in-stock at dealers yet). So you'll be hard pressed to find exhaustive reviews. The Crossrip is pretty popular at our shop (we sell Trek & Giant). A couple things to consider, seeing you've mentioned that you're looking for a commuter.

Do you require rack/pannier mounts? Or are you riding with a backpack? How about fenders?

Which of these bikes have you ridden? What did you like about the ones you rode? What didn't you like about the ones you rode?

Those are really different bikes. It sounds like you need to decide what you really want in a bike first before picking specific models.

1. Do you want drop bars, or flat bars

2. If drop: Do you want simply a relaxed road bike (contend), or something with room for off-road tires (cross-rip)

3. The Quick and the Sirus are similar. A ride might tell you more.

the giant looks a bit better than the trek , so there you go

Only the Contend and Crossrip are really road bikes, and of the two the Crossrip is set up for commuting more, while the Contend is more for unloaded pleasure-riding.

I don't see rack mounts on the Contend, so if yuo are really commuting, you might want to pass on this bike. A rack and a couple panniers and a trunk rack can really help if you commute--particularly in bad weather, or if you need to change clothes for any reason, and also if you need to carry a spare set of shoes, or carry a lunch, or in any number of other situations.

The Crossrip has Tiagra 10-speed, which is not quite as good as the 105 11-speed on the Contend but still plenty good, certainly fine for commuting and pleasure riding--i have Tiagra 9- and 10-speed on a pair of bikes and it works excellently, weighs a bout three teaspoons of salt more than the 105, and costs less. Certainly not a deal-breaker.

It really comes down to what 12strings asks ... What kind of riding do you intend to do?

If you are planning to mostly road miles with some mostly well-groomed trails---not MTB trails---and mostly commuting/utility riding---then the Crossrip, which can take racks and fenders, would be the best bet IMO. If you commute with a backpack, the Contend is a better deal ... but if you want to do a lot of dirt trails, the Contend won't take the wider tires that the Crossrip will handle---as for stock ties, the extra 1/4-inch difference isn't all that much for occasional trail-riding.

Are you going to be swapping tires a lot? If not, tire width means nothing, so other factors would make the difference.

The other two bikes, the flatbar bikes, are about the same ... but the question is, who far do you plan to ride, and how hard? I prefer drop bars for road use---and I have a decade and a half of commuting experience on both flat- and drop bars. Your mileage may vary.

I prefer the wider range of hand positions afforded by drop bars, especially as I age. When I was young and crazy and rode hard all the time, it didn't matter so much, but being able to get comfortable means a lot more nowadays.

Both flatbar bikes appear to have rack mounts built in. Both come with 30-mm tires ... about the same as the Crossrip. Again, not really suited to any kind of real trail riding, but fine for hard-packed dirt on occasion.