Ugh...need help with bike suggestion for "Touring, Road, Errand, rail trail" bike

[TigerMom]

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate in order for you to up your budget...

No one wants to pay a lot for a bike. However, you want a light bike that can ride well in road, rain, AND on gravel and you don't like aluminum and also steel rusts.....which leaves carbon and titanium.

Based on your requirements, I would suggest either a carbon or a titanium Cyclocross bike with disc brakes. If this is going to be your "last" bike and you sound like you know what you like and what you don't like, I think that you should raise your budget quite a bit so that you can get exactly what you want in your "last" bike.

[hulagirl]

Love it!

Yes....I agree 100% with everything you say TigerMom. My budget can only go so far. Right now I'm getting the husband to nod at $5000.

FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! FOR A BIKE!

I'm really pushing the limit there. If I was to go to a custom build I'm terrified that I would pay for the custom but not for the rest of the bike that I want.

I think I can get a VERY good bike for $5000. (Lynskey is at the top of my list so far)

And ya know what....having done this 3 times now, part of my is worried that it will be harder to sell a custom frame vs a stock frame if the bike doesn't work out. How sad is that? But really, if I find a frame that is close to my Orbea fit, I'll be happy. The Bike Friday was custom built to those measurements so I'm sure I can find something similar.

I'm going to contact Adrenaline Bikes and see what they say. I'll be in Orange County in January for Tinker Bell half marathon and will make a point to get to their shop for a fitting and to test out the bikes before I buy anything! (to avoid the bad choice I made by buying the Surly)

Denise