Well i am thinking i will buy me a used (nice) road bike or borrow one from the LBS and take it for a test spin...about 10 miles and see if it's a lot different...My butt is better with the padded shorts and makes riding more tolerable but the hands??? I have the option of a lot of position choices now so i might lower my bars again and adjust my seat...Maybe the different combinations will make a differnece... i do want and will get a narrower seat...i feel my tailbones hitting the outer part of the seat and i remember riding a very narrow seat and being comfy with it,.. I have to wait a little bit... watching what i spend on this to make sure they are justified... the padded shorts were definitely justified...and so were the super bright led lights...Will work on the seat soon... i like the Fisik Aliante VS...