Fast touring bike / Roadbike with touring capabilities I am looking for a bike as primary transportation in the South Bay area.
My commute is 5 mi, I like to do overnight trips on weekends and use
the bike for shopping, which will involve occasional trips not longer than 30 mi.

My budget is $1500, but I would not mind to spend less in order not to worry
too much about theft and maybe even get a second bike. 

I went to a lot of bike shops, but they seem to be geared
more towards racing or mtb, very few bikes even had rack mounts.

My current favorite is the Novara Randonee 2012
http://www.rei.com/product/816068/novara-randonee-bike-2012
but I am not 100% sure it is the right bike for my purpose. 

My concerns with the Randonee are:

-Main concern: Bar End Shifters. I've never had bar ends, but I have the feeling that they
are unsuitable for traffic. I have to go through a few streets with heavy
traffic I don't feel too comfortable in, even without taking my hands off the
brakes. I like integrated shifters.

-Minor concern: The Randonee is not overweight (29 lbs), but a bit too heavily built for my
purpose. I won't do any tours of more than a few days, most of my use will be running errands and doing tours (not races) with friends who have mostly cross or road bikes. I don't want to be the slowest.

Are these proper concerns? Did I overlook anything? Does one get used to the bar ends?

Other bikes I looked at:

-Novara Verita, $1200: Goes in the right direction, but sitting was uncomfortable
compared to Randonee, and they weren't able to identify the problem in the shop.

-Fuji Cross 3.0, $800:
400318">http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1094122_-1_400318
I have doubts about the canti brakes, especially when wet.

-Salsa Vaya 2, $1700: BB5 disc brakes probably better than brakes on Randonee, far too expensive

-Fantom Outlaw, $999:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/outlaw.htm
Cheaper version of salsa, but bad idea to buy without trying it out.

Anyway, these four only have double cranksets with a lowest ratio of 36:32, I am not
sure this is low enough. 

Bikes I read about but that I didn't see in any shop: Specialized Secteur,
Surly LHT, Trek, Surly Cross Check 

Are there other bikes I should look at that 
-take a rack and fenders
-have reliable brakes for all weather use in traffic
-preferably have integrated shifters
-low enough gear
The Surly Pacer is a good choice. My first real bike was a one, and I used it for commuting, training rides, and a two-week tour in Europe. Even though it wasn't "ideal" for training rides or touring, it worked great for me until I was able to afford more specialized bikes. The Pacer doesn't come with as many rack bosses as you'll want (one advantage of the cross-check), but p-clamps did the trick for me.

That said, about your individual concerns:


bar-end shifters are great for touring bikes

they are perfectly fine for traffic, you get used to them faster than you think
they are waaaay less prone to malfunctioning, which brifters are legendary for

30lb isn't really that big a deal for a do-everything bike

the extra 5lb is nothing compared to the weight of the rider and touring equipment
steel is probably the best choice for this type of bike regardless
it's easier / cheaper to upgrade the engine instead of the bike :)