Sorry to hear your road bike experiment didn't work out!

I was looking at the Creme you linked to and reviewing the specs, I noticed that the front hub was a JoyTech. My wife has a Specialized Crossroads that I bought for her back in the mid '90s. She doesn't ride much, but had been complaining about it so I took a look at it. Spinning the front wheel, it was painfully rough, so I took it apart and replaced the axle/cones/bearings. One cone had started to disintegrate. JoyTech... doesn't exactly describe my feelings at that moment

It is still somewhat rough (races looked OK, but appeared to not have been great new), and would not adjust to smooth but no play, so I had to choose the smooth and loose. I thought I had seen crappy hubs in the '70s, but this one took the cake. I realize they (probably) make different models, but one thing I won't tolerate on my bike is crap hubs.