Help me choose a bike

You might want to look at the Ridgeback Genesis Day which is a really nice hybrid tending to urban bike. The Kona dew is a good choice as well. The Claud Butler Chinook and Levante, look good on paper but I haven't seen them in the flesh. they are closer to being straight handle bared road bikes, than lightened mountain bikes.

For a Hybrid I would go with one that has 700c (road style) wheels rather than 26" (mountain style), either will work on both surfaces of course depending on tyre, but it sounds like your going to be on road more so you do better with 700c, less effort required for a given speed.

By countryside, Dave, do you mean country lanes or off-road?

TV's Dave, buy this bike:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=2904&item=7168100549&rd=1&ssPageName=WD2V

Revive!

I know pretty much nothing about bikes except that I would again like to own one after a few years without. Also, I hate to shop, so narrowed options will be very useful.

Here's the kind of riding I would be doing:

Oops--didn't mean to submit yet. . .

So, my riding:

*mostly pavement, maybe smooth trails once in a while. Mostly urban riding in downtown Washington, D.C.
*primarily errands and leisurely recreational rides--certainly not more that ten miles or so at a time.

What is most important to me:

*COMFORT! I don't want to go particularly fast or careen down rocky mountain paths, I just want to be comfy for my fairly short, start-and-stop rides. Good agility would seem to be important for urban riding, no?
*Something not too heavy would be nice, as I'll have to lug the thing up stairs and onto bus racks and down to the metro on occasion.
*Price. I'm pretty clueless about what it would cost to get something I'd love, but I'm not willing to go to four figures, that's for sure!

So, do I just walk into a bike shop and say "I want a comfort bike"? Or, "I want a hybrid" (do I?)? I'm pretty sure that I don't need either a mountain or a road bike. Now that I think about it, what is the difference between a comfort and a hybrid?

Thanks for any guidance you can offer. From the discussion above, it is clear that many ILXors can give good advice.

1) my bike got stolen about a while back (when i lent it to a friend, (s)natch) and summertime has me fiending for a new one.

i had one of these in high school back when i used to live within riding distance of trails:
http://www.bayviewcycle.com/Bikes_Images/Trek2004/4900_Blk.jpg

i was thinking about bringing it back to nyc when i go home in a week, but this cost $500+ when i first got it and I put in another $100.. would it be crazy to leave this thing on the street? even if i put electrical tape or something around the body? it's a heavy-duty motherfucker, too. maybe a road bike would be better here.

2) i had a U-lock on the bike that got stolen. it's probably that my dumb-ass friend got drunk and left it unlocked, but would you have a bike in the city with just a u-lock? if not...

3) investing in a kryptonite bike chain? i guess you can get a used one for $50, but how much does it cost for a THICK chain and a BIG lock? is that feasible? i feel like i never see people with those.

4) i found a road bike in queens for $30. all it's missing are the brakes. can i just convert that into a fixed gear and skip the brakes if i get proper cogs for the pedals etc? (my bike dork friend let me ride his-- nice). even if it's not my main bike, it would be cool to have one around.

one word responses are acceptable.

Check out the on guard locks and chains, they cost less and get good reviews.

Don't ride a suspension mountain bike in town, the fixie idea is sound but put a front brake on, they don't cost much and it at least gives you the option not to fixed gear skid into the side of a truck.

thanks. i just looked at that cheap bike again and the dropouts aren't horizontal, and that seems to be pretty essential. ah well.

xpost

that way you can fly head over heels into the truck instead

Depends what the drop out looks like. If it is long like this:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/dropf-camp.gif

Then you can do it.