Here are the kind of bikes Grog is talking about:

http://www.konaworld.com/shopping_ca...4&parentid=253

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...ory_rn=4502048

This is the sort of bike we need to see more of, and with a lower price over all.

I actually thought the Bianchi commuter/low end bikes were pretty nice. And the Kona and REI bikes don't weigh all that much. They don't have suspensions, either.

I agree with Grog, department store bikes are NOT commuter material. If you read the excellent article by Dan Koeppel (Invisible Riders) in the December 05 issue of Bicycling, he does go a bit into the market forces that shape the heavy, stupid, goofy suspension, poseur bikes sold at department stores.