Hey Planemaker... wife and I got into biking a couple years back, thanks to Townies really. I'm 55, she 54 and a little on the curvey side. As we grew in the sport and our weekend rides grew to 20 miles or more, I wanted more 'roll'. Picked up a hybrid Specialized 24 speed with 700x35 tires.
OMG - 'Roll and Glide' were improved greatly. We love or shall i say 'loved' our Townies... but progress came calling. After several weeks of me on the hybrid and her on the Townie, i convinced her the difference was too much to ignore. Test rode MANY bikes for her and finally got her onto a Trek 7.2 WSD (womens)... put a 2 inch riser on the handlebars and now she is back to leading me down the trail.
Yes- geometry change was different, but we are both surprised how easily we made the upgrade with comfort. The seat was the big deal i guess. Shop a great seat and i would suggest, the riser for the handlebar. I have one too and it helped us a ton.