Quote Originally Posted by kamikazejane View Post
CX bike all the way. Picked up a Specialized Crux Expert Force...love it. Throw the knobbies on for dirt training and the slicks for the road. Did a Century on it a few weeks ago and was supper comfortable the whole ride. I race around with the guys on some spirited rides with paces getting up to 24mph and really looking forward to being able to ride year round on it. I think it's the do it all bike. Pretty good in the weight department as well. The only thing to think about is if you are willing to maybe pick up an extra wheelset for slicks or possibly switch the chainring out. I wasn't too fond of the set up on mine and switched to a 50/34. I am 5'4" and fit perfectly on the 52cm Crux and I have a bad back which hasn't caused too many issues with the more upright sitting on the Crux. So yeah...CX all the way for the all around bike IMO.
Do you have a long torso? I'm 3" taller than you and would ride the same size! Can it take a rack? I really like the Surly Cross-check, but I don't think I can ride one, since the top tubes are LONG. There's a shortage of WSD CX bikes out there, and I need a relatively short top tube, so the Crux/Tricross might be the best bet for me.