All Over the World

I'm just hanging out at work and there's not much going on. A coworker brought in his Wii and my boss brought in Super Smash Brothers: Brawl. There's only one controller and I already beat the one player mode story game. So now what?

I've been reading a lot about bikes lately. Trying to figure out which kind of bike I should get for San Francisco. I've got a 2005 Trek 3700 right now and am frustrated with trying to keep it tuned up and it's also a little small for me, but it is fun to ride, just not so much fun to commute on.

Here's what I've decided:
-Max Price around $700 (this, believe it or not, puts a big limit on bike choice, new and used)
-Mid range derailers (dérailleurs) like the Shimano Deore (none of the "A" components like Acera or Alivio, but an Altus:maybe)
-If I think I can handle it, a fixie (fixed-gear bike) would be fun to try, but might not be the most practical for me. Fixies are single speed bikes that don't allow for coasting. No freewheel. If the wheel is turning, the pedals are turning too. This does two things, give the rider FULL control over speed (slow your legs down to slow the bike down. Many fixies don't even have brakes, not suggested, but a common practice) and make the bike amazingly simple, light, and efficient. Skid stopping is a trick all fixie riders need to learn. They've got a very strong cult following and most who've ridden them won't ride anything else. Makes me want to try it. Usually they're old vintage ten-speeds converted into fixed-gears. This has made old vintage bikes very desirable. The truest of the fixies are ghetto old bikes that've been spray-painted 5 times over, and look like they were made in the 60's. Even these are going for $4-500 on craigslist. Very trendy in large cities right now. Newly made fixies often have a back wheel that can be flipped to be either a singlespeed or a fixie.
-700c or 29er wheels. The standard consensus is bigger wheels are better.
-Avoid Diamondback, Raleigh, and Giant (not universally, just for general consideration) For lower end bikes (<$1000) they charge the same prices as other companies while having lower quality parts. -Less upright position. I kinda like being a bit aggressive on my bike. No "comfort" bikes, no cruisers (you wanna see cruisers? hang out at USC in between classes, never seen so many cruisers. Uber trendy there.) -If a front suspension, needs to have lock-out to make it solid when wanted -Fenders and maybe a cargo rack over back wheel (it does rain in SF) -Drop handlebars preferred. Don't want to be scraping cars with wide flat handle bars. It's also a little uncomfortable for the wrists for long times straight out on the bars I got now.
-Need 19-22" frame size (depends on bike as to how big I'll want it. On my current bike, I've got a 19.5" and feel hunched over/squished, after a few minutes. It's probably partly the design of my model, it is a very low-end mountain bike).

Some models that have captured my attention more than others:
Gary Fisher Kaitai - $660 - "dual sport" - the kaitai was popular in the 90's but cancelled and brought back a few years ago. The old ones got excellent reviews all around. Can't find many reviews on the new kaitais, but it seems like a nice bike. Some people think that by trying to do road and mountain in one bike makes for the worst of both.
Gary Fisher Triton - $660 -fixie/singlespeed switchable if I decide a fixie is worth trying. Kinda on the pricey side for a fixie. Can pick fixies up on craigslist for $400.
Trek Soho 1.0 - $699 - Simple commuter bike, slick tires, rubber lining the frame so you can "lean it up against stuff without scratching the paint" according to the employee. Kinda gimmicky, but a nice bike anyways.
Trek Soho S - $550 - Singlespeed/fixie. Nice bike. Cheaper than the fisher, cooler looking.
Kona Paddy Wagon - $650 - Singlespeed/fixie - read lots of great reviews for it
Kona Smoke 2-9 - $350 - Cheap, lower components, already decked out with fenders. Would want to change the handlebars which would require buying new shifters too. Reviewers love it and say it can take a beating. I'm really frustrated with my low end deraillers now, and not sure if I would just get a repeat with these (Shimano -Altus).

What's funny is how many of the bikes I want that come with the drop handle bars, that are just out of the price range I'm trying to stick to. It's as if anything that's pre-made with the drops and deraillers instantly costs $900 and up.

I've turned myself around in circles three times trying to decide, and what'll probably happen is I'll just have to wait until we get there and test a bunch of different bikes and see how the ride to school from our place will be each day, and see what comes up on craigslist. I also gotta find someone who'll let me take a fixie for a test ride. For the rest of you dreaming of how you can be like me and ride your bike everyday, take a look at this. Good tips.

For those of you who aren't dreaming of becoming like me and just want some laughs or were inspired by locals met in third world countries (the kind that can fit whole familes and 20 caged chickens on a bike), this thing is awesome. Who needs a pickup when you got that? You could put a couch on the back of this sucker. There's also the Surly Big Dummy (just comes as a frame) and the Xtracycle accesories and parts for creating similar bikes. Xtracycle actually came first, Surly and Kona tagged onto the idea.

About the above picture, it's floated around the internets a bunch, along with the popular spin-off: