To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I want - maybe it's not necessarily speed at all, but distance. Right now I have a cruiser and a heavy Dutch bike. Both are great comfortable bikes for the short distances I go (under 5 miles). But I'm trying to do more cycling in place of driving, and I've been thinking that I want something that will make it easier to travel longer distances. I have not gone far on either of my current bikes, but have heard that on these type of leisurely bikes, you will get tired on longer trips. Also, I have heard that the Dutch bikes don't go much faster than 12mph unless you are superman/superwoman. I have never measured my speed exactly, but on these bikes I'm pretty slow, probably 8-10. I realize that sounds ridiculously slow, but again, I take fairly short trips.

Going 15mph would be an excellent speed to me, although I know that's probably nothing to most of the people in this forum. So I guess I just want a bike that is still somewhat upright/comfortable, but won't tire me out at 7-12 miles. For example, my parents live 11 miles away - if I could bike to their house, visit for a few hours and ride back, that would be great.