Thank you for the cogent reply. Perhaps I should have included a humor icon in my query.

But you see, my "fast" bike was made in an obscure and now-forgotten shop named Carlton, owned at the time by some ancient and honorable British company named, uh, lemme' think, Raleigh. My other bikes, a solo and a tandem, were made by a monster big French company who date back to the early 20th century, ah, Peugeot, if I've spelt it right. Perhaps you've heard of them, yes? Their, i.e. the bikes', not the companies', frames are steel and thus quite capable of carrying my weight forever and ever. I have had no reason to look for another bike for several decades, though a supply of certain parts for building up, or I should say reviving, the nearly-dead tandem came in handy last winter.

So when someone writes about Giant or Trek or Specialized and then gives a model designation such as TK1500 or XR228 or OF22T or 221B Baker St, I have no idea what he or she is saying. They all look alike to me. And they sure don't look like the bikes I've been riding for nearly four decades.

That looks like a nice shop. Giant seem to have their retail and technical acts together from what I can see in those pics.