Just a few hours ago I was reveling in the supreme pleasure of working from a café right off the Venice Beach boardwalk, where the view included lots of graffitied palm trees, some smoggy mountains, a slightly-past-middle-age and very brave woman wearing just Daisy Dukes and a bikini top, and so many happy people on bikes. The bikes-galore thing really made me wish I had a ten-speed of my own, but I haven’t owned that kind of wheels since I scored an ‘84 Corolla around the age of 16. If I were to invest, here are some of the ThisNext-approved road bikes I’d have to consider first:

1. Trek 2100 Road Bike

Teigeman swears that this “fast, sleek, and sexy” road bike “changed my life” and transformed him into a “confirmed roadie that rides dirt once in a while.” As “one of the most well-engineered pieces of gear a person can own,” the Trek 2100 “is all about comfort, pro-level quality, and just plain fun. With a Trek 2100, you’ll have a pimpin’ ride that won’t break the bank, and you’ll never feel outclassed - even 10 years down the road.”

2. The Trek Madone 5.2 Triple

I must admit, I’m mostly partial to this one because of the fact that Jessi Pacetti quotes my second-favorite Go-Go in her shopcast. “I think Belinda Carlisle said it best,” Jessi announces. “‘Ooh baby do you know what’s that’s worth? Oooh heaven is a place on earth.’” (My number-one favorite Go-Go, in case you’re curious, would be Jane Wiedlin.)

3. Electra Rosie 26” Women’s Cruiser Bike

Revealing my inner girly-girl again, I’m intrigued by Electra’s Rosie 26” Women’s Cruiser mainly because (a) the name is really cute (and I love roses) and (b) I appreciate that shopzilla has described the bike as “adorable.” It’s also “solidly built, with whimsical colors on the fenders, wheels,” she notes. “Add a wicker basket and you’ll be lost in summer bike-path bliss!”

4. Schwinn 1975 Collegiate 5 speed in Yellow

A really classic choice, “this is the daily commuting vehicle that gets me where I need to go,” says Julie Kipfer. “With chrome fenders and 5 speeds, neither rain nor hills will slow me down, plus it’s easy to park,” she adds.

5. Terry’s Fast Woman Bike

Like blondie, I “love the name” of this road bike (“My road bike….my sanity,” our shopcaster declares). And I’m also won over by Kasha Rigby’s words of adoration: “Nineteen pounds of pure, spinning pleasure! This bike is built for winning races and, in my book, also squashes the competition in the good-looks category,” she says. “I love the creamy, dreamy lightning white color!”

6. Dutch City Bikes

Despite the undeniable appeal of the above models, I might be lured into the “brand spankin’ new love fest” that El Bomba describes in a happily drooling shopcast for Dutch City Bikes. “The details are amazing, the comfort factor is something that most old bikes can’t offer,” El Bomba writes. “I look at this and feel as happy as Kermit in the Muppet Movie.”