I need to get out of my apartment more on weekends. So I figured I would pick up a new bike and take it for spins around town. There is also a small park about 10 minutes away that I could do so trail riding.
I haven't had a bike in about 10 years now, so obviously the tech has greatly improved. I have gathered from my preliminary research that I'm looking for a hybrid type bike, since I will be doing pavement or gravel/trail. I started to narrow my search and got as far as the Giant Roam or Specialized Crosstrail Sport, which I gather are both good bikes at a decent price range (I'd like to spend somewhere between 500-700, a little over is fine, but not over 1000).
However, the LBS that sells Specialized.. for lack of a better word.. sucks, at least according to reviews. There is a great shop a little south of me that sells Kona, Ibis, Rocky Mountain, etc. But I don't want to buy something too fancy for my needs, or settle for something not great just because that's what they carry. Just quickly looking at those brands I can see they are a little more hardcore (in design and price) than I need.
So, now I'm completely confused. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
In summary: I need a good hybrid bike capable of both pavement and trail riding. Would prefer it to be pretty light as I need to carry it up and down 3 flights of stairs in my apartment. Looking to spend 500-700 and certainly under 1000. If it matters, I am relatively short, about 5'7" 165 lbs, with an inseam of about 30".