Quote Originally Posted by PamNY View Post
I'm trying to focus on what I want to do with the bike and go from there. Mostly I ride in the city, but I want to do some suburban/country trips of 30-40 miles. I don't have a car so that means train travel and stairs, which is why I'm focusing on weight right now.
You are right, that's the most important question: what do you want to do with it. And, importantly: do you want to carry stuff on your bike? How much?

I assume from what you say that you will ride mostly roads and perhaps dirt/gravel trails, but nothing too exotic.

And then there is the budget thing...

If it was me, the answers to these questions would narrow down the bikes I would potentially be interested in quite a bit. Then it's a matter of choosing a shop to deal with. In my experience, which is limited as far as buying bikes goes (alas!), you don't get fitted into thin air. You need to actually sit on potential bikes and try them outside, just roughly adjusting things (saddle height mainly, trying one size and then a size up or down). Once you find one or two or three that feel about right, then you explore in greater depth with (hopefully) qualified staff if the fit can be dialed in for you. So, answering the question from your initial post, I don't think it really makes sense to go to a fitter first (unless you're about to drop $5K on a custom bike).

As for bike choice, here's my two cents: my guess based on what you've said so far is that you'll either want a sportsy hybrid (like the Trek fx series, available in a broad range of price and components) or a light-touring bike (drop bars). That's assuming you want to carry things (and also add fenders). If you don't want to carry anything on your bike aside from whatever goes in your saddle bag, then you're in the realm of total road bikes. The touring or road bikes are likely to be quite a bit lighter than the hybrid bikes, but they ride quite differently. You need to try both.

I hope these thoughts, however disorganized, help a little bit.