And the new family member is.....the Jamis Coda Comp! thanks to recommendations from the Team Estrogen discussions.

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebik..._codacomp.html

I demo-ed a Rocky Mountain RC 50V too, and it was faster, nimbler, more responsive, but this one is soooo comfortable, and it's just one water bottle heavier. 2 lbs, the water bottle, my new unit of bike measurement.

Usually I over analyze and it would take me 3 years to pick out a bike, but I decided to just trust my INCREDIBLY AWESOME LBS, and pay a little bit more, I didn't go looking for cheaper deals online. It was an amazing experience, before they even recommended anything the guy had me on the sizing, trainer thing for 45 minutes or more (I had just walked in on a Sunday afternoon in Oct), no guarantees of me buying. He said he couldn't order in two bikes for me to demo, but he did. And before I went out on the Rocky he worked on the adjustments with me up in a trainer for another 30-45 minutes, then I got to ride for an hour or so, while he adjusted the Jamis. Plus they have a shop puppy, so they own me at this point.

I used to commute daily, RT 14 miles, paved and path, but now I work from home. I still wanted a multi-purpose bike, one I could load a bunch of crap on for errands and maybe touring, but faster/lighter/more responsive than my current KHS Westwood

So, now to trick her out. I've got a puter, my spokelits, have to see how well the racks and vertical trunk fit. Definitely need a new bell. I have one of those well-made Arkel backpack panniers, but the truth is it's heavy and I almost never use the backpack part, would think it would be easier to have a different type ofpannier and just toss in my superlight Rick Steves daypack

All pannier suggestions for light, strong, good for daily use and potential touring, welcome. I just joined Adventure Cycling, and am getting very excited about that.

yay! newbikenewbikenewbike!