Help! Which bike should I buy?

[Shelley o'm]

Hi,

Been pouring through your forum after having a very confusing trip to the bike shop. I was originally set on buying the Marin Fairfax. But found out they have sold out and they won't order anymore.

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/1027736/Marin-Fairfax.html

I was then directed towards the Sirrus Elite:

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/1027998/Specialized-Sirrus-Elite.html

And the Trek 7.5 FX
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/1027960/Trek-7-5-FX.html

I was leaning towards the Trek when the assistant mentioned the specialised Cyclocross! He didn't have one in my size but I quite liked the look of it but having never tried drop down handle bars it could be a step too far or too scary!

Need the bike for sporadic commuting city cycling and 50-mile/hr country roads. I have really enjoyed weekend rides except my low spec trek hybrid is really struggling.

Apologies for the long thread. Do you have any recommendations? Should i bite the bullet and try the drop down handle bars or stick with the Urban/hybrid bike i know?

Thanks for you help

[Cataboo]

You don't actually have to ride drop handlebars down in the drops. You can shift & brake if your hands are on top of the hoods... and you can ride with your hands on the flat section of the bar.

Why not test ride a drop handlebar bike?

If you want the bike for commuting - you might prefer a hybrid or flat bar type bike because you're more upright and it makes it easier to see traffic & whats going on around you