cheap_skate

I rode a Trek Hybrid for about 5 years. 1 year ago I bought a CAAD 10 for riding longer distances for staying in shape and give my joints a break from high impact and stressful activities like running, boxing/martial arts and rock climbing. I also wanted a lighter bike and also because the CAAD 10 is just a plain fun bike. I also bought a Downtube folder for more casual riding.

Since last year, I've had two injuries, both related to biking on the CAAD10. First I developed stress in my wrist (despite trying to keep the weight off my wrists), which ended up being a painful hidden ganglion cyst and ligament issues, keeping me off biking and most of my activity for 2-3 months. Recently I had an accident (was distracted by aggressive bikers and stray pedestrians, dropped of an unexpected high 'curb' on a bike path suddenly, skidded into dirt and grass, unclipped from pedals, lost balance and went flying into the pavement crushing my elbow under the weight of my body) and dislocated my elbow, fracturing a bone and tearing all my ligaments, and some tendons, cartilage and some muscle. Recovery is going to be a b!@ch and will take 3-6 months if I heal properly.

I am in mid-30s, 140 lbs, been generally in good shape most of my life, but I am beginning to figure out I am not invincible! I am also about to start a family in the near future and although I'd like to continue as I did before while being more careful and accepting accidents as a part of life, I cannot afford to lose function of an arm or leg for an extended period of time, or at least would not like to. I've decided to go for something less aggressive. I also live and ride in NYC, and in-spite of newer bike-friendly attitudes I don't feel safe riding the streets here (cars, taxis and busses have no respect for bicyclists), and the bike paths are very crowded when the weather is nice. I see nasty accidents all the time, and I know as much as my situation sucks, it could have been worse. For those of you who are performance-oriented racers and hard-core bikers in the best shape of your lives, I know you might think I'm being a bit of a wuss, but that's fine. I know where you coming from, I'm just making some a choice to reduce my chances of injury while still enjoying being on a bike. I can of course stick to my current setup while being more careful, but I'd rather change my bike while giving up speed, agility and lightness. I know that my first injury was related to putting too much pressure on my wrists, and my second injury definitely had something to do with the 'twitchy' nature of the bike, being clipped, having skinny tires off-road. I take responsibility for both injuries though and blame it on luck as well. Perhaps I am too inexperienced to be riding the CAAD 10 as well. I know the CAAD 10 fans are rolling their eyes right now.

Particularly I am looking for a bike with more stability on uneven roads and bike paths, fatter tires, more upright position putting less pressure on my wrists and avoiding flying over the bars in a crash, giving up clip-less pedals. I also intend to ride anywhere from 5-50 miles (average rides are 15-20 miles) with emphasis on safety/stability first and then durability, comfort, looks, endurance and speed in that order. Would be nice if I can lock the bike up on the street occasionally too.

My question/dilemma - should I still stick with the road bike category choosing (perhaps a less-aggressive steel bike), or should I spend my time exploring touring bikes, fixed gear/custom, hybrid/city, folders, mountain bike? Thanks for reading my long post, and I apologize if you feel this is posted on the wrong forum.