Thanks once again. I understand how the additional weight offers more exercise, but there are times when I like having a lighter, faster (w/o motor) bike... like my road bike. In fact I ride the road bike to work as much as possible. I break out the heavier bike for winter because I have Nokian Extremes for it, and it just "fits" better with winter shoes and gloves on. I'm just not sure I'm going to have room for 3 bikes when I move soon, and I also like having less stuff.

Maybe a good middle-ground between my plan and your observations would be to simply remove the battery when I want a lighter bike. Come to think of it, that brings up another concern I have. Can the battery be easily removed to charge it elsewhere or does it need to stay on the bike? I'm hoping to store this bike in the carport at my new home, but there's no power available there. I would like to be able to bring the battery inside to charge it, which I've read is better for the battery anyway in cold weather. Same applies to work - no outlet available where I park the bike.