[herr_oberst]

Z, another analogy would be the 'ginner who buys a chinese guitar that won't stay in tune and soon gets burned out on learning how to play, because no matter how long he practices, that 'instrument' never sounds good.

You are making a choice to do some cycling, (an optional activity in your life, at least the way I interpret your description of why you want a bike). If the shifting is funky or the brakes are less than optimal or the cockpit position just never feels good, you'll soon park that bike in the garage, and eventually in the dumpster.

My advice, free, is to find a close-by bike shop that sells Trek, tell them what you have in mind and let them help you. You might pay a little more, but you're more likely to ride the bike and if there is a problem, you can take the bike back and they will help you solve it. Then, if you decide it's not for you, then at least the bike has some resale value, unlike the department store stuff.

(And, you may find a bike you love at the bike shop and then go home and see the same exact thing on craigslist for a few bucks less. No matter, you'll end up with a quality mount that the bike shop will work on.)