Trying to determine what bike to purchase

So I am looking for a bike to commute to work and something that I can take on a trail for 40+ miles. Most of the trails I do are not paved (its not gravel but something similar, no mud or dirt). I dont want to spend more than $1,000.

A few bikes ive been looking into are:

Giant Escape 1
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/escape.1/22180/83978/

Renegade exile
http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/renegadeexile.html

Trek 7.2
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/city-bikes/fitness-bikes/fx/7-2-fx/p/1323010-2016

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Hybrid (or a gravel grinder) is definitely a great way to go. But it's your choice. Pick the right geometry and get a proper size. Pick your level of groupset (Shimano Sora, 105, Ult., etc. or SRAM equiv) and go from there. I would def recommend upsizing the tires. 35s if you can fit them. Maybe even bigger. I had a Trek FX once. It was decent. But you can probably get more bike going higher than 7.2. And most of all, get a saddle that works. Don't settle for stock.

 

The Jamis bike is a very nice bike but it's more intended for street use and light trails which is evident by the use of the Claris derailleurs which is a road derailleur system and thus road gears, banging that too many times on a trail would probably result in ghost shifting, and premature wearout.

On the MTB rouster Tourney and Altus are the lowest end stuff, this stuff also won't take a beating over time real well. Acera starts using corrosion resistant stainless steel which means it won't corrode obviously like the other two and thus last longer and shift better. However I would recommend finding a bike with at least Alivio which is above Acera, this is stuff has a lot of the same designs and technology that the more expensive groupsets use. HOWEVER, there's that word again! SLX is the best component package for the money, it's considered the workhorse of the Shimano MTB line of components.

If you don't mind buying on line Perfomance Bike has this bike on sale which has a really nice groupset, see: http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1190000_-1_400309__400309 Make sure you read about their warranty, it's quite good.