Gosh... thank you ALL for your bike recs! I've printed out a sheet for each bike and compared them all and even did my research on reviews and such. While I'm not 100% entirely sure that I'll go out right now and buy a bike (impulsive urges to make purchases of 1,000+ should be monitored closely, heh), I know I'm definitely leaning towards the Crosscheck more than any other at the moment. I may yet change my mind, but as I'm still relatively new to biking and don't intend to get into serious events beyond seriously having fun, I think it might just be for me

I'll let you all know what I walk away from the LBS with when I finally break down and buy something!