Thanks for all the replies.

So I have definitely crossed out Kmart, Big W Target etc.

Some people have advised; don't buy a hybrid you will want a flat bar road bike, while others advise don't buy a hybrid you want a proper mountain bike. I think in a way both a right and I will probably go with a hybrid purely because my 1980's 10 speed wasn't robust enough for the way I treated it. It sounds like a future change of tire size and I get most of the benefit of the road bike anyway.

The polygon that was suggested looks really interesting but I think that for an extra hundred bucks I would like to get the local support of a bike shop. That said I don't really understand how much better the polygon might be than the Roam 2.

I'm still debating new versus second hand. I am risk averse and lazy so I'll probably end up going new.

FWIW Bicyclesonlone have service centers around oz.

Re : Roam 2 look here www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=76188

As someone else said the components are core.

Anyway at this rate I sound like a fanboy
so, over and out, good luck either way.

it is a very common assertion that components are core, which I think can be misleading albeit true. From my experience, the parts that really lead to a disappointing bike are the often forgotten components like spokes, cables and brakes. Poor spokes rust easily and therefore break, crappy cables continuously stretch so make gear and brake performance poor and unreliable and well, brakes are just very important!!