Seeking advice on quick bike £800-900

EasyPeez

Hi,

I'm doing a 25 mile daily commute on a heavy mountain bike and have decided it's time to get something more suitable. I'm 5'8", 10stone in weight, and after something that will deliver good speed and durability but will also take mudguards and panniers and offer a fairly comfortable ride. I was originally looking at spending £500 but since becoming aware of the C2W scheme I reckon I can set my sights higher.
The terrain is all flat on my daily route, and is 90% tarmac with one pretty rough off-road path, but I can avoid this and take a slightly longer tarmac route if necessary.
I also want the bike to be a fun ride, that can fly into swooping corners and take on some tarmac hills and light gravel cycle paths when I go out for longer weekend pleasure rides without the panniers (i.e 30-40 miles)
I'm slightly nervous of going for a full-on road bike, partly because I've never ridden anything with drop handles and that kind of ride position before, partly because of the state of the roads (potholes) round here, and partly because I'm not sure how it would cope for grip on the old railway lines on pleasure rides (though admittedly the commute is the main job for the bike so maybe I should focus on that).
At the same time, I'm keeping my mountain bike, so I don't need my new one to be able to do everything, and am conscious that this will be the only other bike I buy, so I don't want anything that's too much of a compromise - I'm quite keen to go for something really quick that's not too similar to what I already have.

Taking all the above into account, I really can't decide whether to go road, hybrid or cyclocross!!
Having been on a tour of my local dealers and presented them with my requirements, this is what they've suggested to me. If anyone can help me narrow this list down (or indeed suggest other models that are better than all of these for a similar price) I'd be very grateful. Thanks, Andy

Trek Domane 2.0 - http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/ro ... omane_2_0/

Trek Crossrip Comp - http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/ro ... srip_comp/

Cube SL Road Race http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/tour/sl-roa ... -red-2015/

Raleigh Maverick Elite - http://www.raleigh.co.uk/ProductType/Pr ... 4&pg=12131

Boardman Hybrid Team - http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -bike-2014

Ridley X Bow 20 - http://www.ridley-bikes.com/an/en/bikes ... oad-1505am

I also saw this on Bike radar that looks good, but doubt I could get one ordered in to a local dealer -
Mares AX - http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/...s ... -15-48939/

And am intrigued by the pros and cons of the belt and hub gears, which seem pretty unique (maybe I just haven't seen enough manufacturers?) in a sports kind of bike -
http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/tour/hyde/c ... lack-2015/

Am currently feeling unsure about the Boardmans due to concerns around lack of frame guarantee and quality of build and after-sales through Halfords, but then again they get some great reviews online. Not really sure how to start whittling this down to be honest, and am wondering if, because I live in a small city, I might be overlooking some gems that are available elsewhere but not stocked in my local shops.

I'm realise most of the above are hybrid or cyclo. If I do go for one of those I'll be looking to get road tyres fitted rather than knobblies. But I'm willing to be persuaded that a full on road bike is what I need and take suggestions on models if those with more experience feel I'll be glad I did once I get used to it.

Cheers :-)

The Rookie

Have a look at the Specialized Diverge as well, effectively a commuting dedicated bike, disc brakes and a CX style frame, mounts in the rear, not sure about the front.

Initialised

You should be able to pick up a Specialized Secteur Disc for £700-£900 if you look for 2013 or 2014 models.

Or...

This Roubaix SL4 (the Carbon Fibre version) for under £900 so long as a 56cm is fine:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... --ec075874