What is the best bike for me?

What's the best urban commuter & weekend warrior bike that's tough, light, fast, and under $800?

• I'm looking for a good urban commuter bike that's tough, light, fast. What's the best bang for the buck? So far I've tried the following: 1.) Trek 7.5 - Nice light fast clean-looking bike. Uncomfortable seat. Very balanced ride. Trek 7.5 FX http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/bike_path/fx/75fx/ 2.) Cannondale Bad Boy - Best looking bike. Kinda slow. Priciest bike of the bunch - out of my budget. http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/ce/model-4MRBB.html 3.) K2 Astral - Very light and fast bike. Not sure how tough it is. The red color sucks. http://www.k2bikes.com/index.php?brand=K2&series=ROAD&type=FLAT%20BAR%20ROAD&model=ASTRAL%203.0 4.) Specialized Sirrus. - Cool minimal look. Very light. So so ride. Cheapest bike. http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=07Sirrus Between these bikes, I'm leaning towards the Trek 7.5. Which one of these has the best frame and components? Are there any other bikes I should try?

• Answer:

  Of your four bikes there, I like the Trek FX 7.5. I think Trek nailed the design here and really thought about who would be riding these bikes. It is built for people who want to commute and/or do some spirited fitness riding. For these riders, a road bike is too light and aggressive and a hybrid is too cumbersome. The Cannondale misses the mark and leans to close to the hybrid side for me. The others are fine, but I think the Trek is the best value. Good call on not going for the disk brake. It's overkill and not necessary. The saddle can be changed very easily. Just ask at the shop. I'm sure they can work something out.