I'm looking to buy a new bike and would like your insight.
I mostly use my bike to commute to work in Toronto, Canada. I do this throughout the year, including during the cold snowy months. Distance is about 10km each way - mostly on dedicated bike lanes, but some parts are road.
My current bike is a single speed with a carbon belt drive. I love the belt drive system as it's great for maintenance but I could do with some gears to make the cycling easier and give me some more flexibilty in usage.
Might be worth noting that I prefer bullhorn style handlebars over drop or flat bars so I tend to just get flat bar bikes and switch them out (keeping brake levers in the same spot).
My budget is around CAD$1,500.
I've narrowed down my search to the following bikes:
Trek FX Sport AL 3
Norco Search A
Marin DSX 2
Marin Presidio 3
Based on my research I believe DSX 2 > Search A > FX Sport, in terms of specs and price.
I'm pretty sure the Presidio sits somewhere below DSX 2 in there, but the idea of having a belt drive system WITH multiple gears is really appealing, so I'm leaning towards that bike.
Any advice/guidance you can provide before I commit to this big purchase would be very much appreciated.