Words like "sluggish", "twitchy", "heavy", etc. are all relative and mean different things to different riders' tastes, and purposes. FiftyPlus has always been about good sense and resisting some of the group-think we find over in the Road Forum. A heavier bike but with a low-geared triple may yet take you outa town and get you up some steep climbs much harder on a compact--earning you that personal accomplishment feeling. That longer-wheelbase may take longer to set up for a turn, but then may feel more stable on descents and no-hands showing off. And if you get truly hard-core-in-the-rain, then you go to fenders, not to mention the versatility of wider tires. Maybe not the bike on which to seriously ride intervals or race your friends. But, will you be doing that?

Anyway, Deege, don't dismiss anything yet-- ride as many as you can.....at our age, we can relax the machismo and get what we honestly believe is best for our goals and style of riding. And, if the economy picks up, there's always N+1 to correct any errors in judgement and add to the fleet.

LOL......this is how it always starts: the soul searching, the conundrums, the hesitation, then the impulsive spending-more-than-we'd-planned. Gary, have you considered a nice pair of walking shoes?!