Road bikes aren't the delicate little flowers many people make them out to be. The reputation comes mainly from old-school box section rims, and today's fashionable low-spoke-count wheels. Contemporary aluminum rims with a sensible number of spokes won't give you problems.

I live in the city, and work in the city. Hell, I even work FOR the city. (And like Chicago, we're also on a Great Lake.) I've been car-free since 1999. All I own are road bikes. Okay, my four-seasons all-conditions commuter has healthy doses of both cyclocross and touring bikes in its DNA, but still, it's instantly recognizable as a roadie, and was sold as a high-speed urban commuter.

My bikes commute through this



And this



This second photo, BTW, is an example of the type of wheel that should be avoided. I got only 4,000 miles out of them, and 4,000 miles out of the warranty replacement set. When I replaced them--only two years after I bought the bike--it was with these:




That's what I mean about a sensible number of spokes. These wheels have been trued once in the five years I've had them. And that's only because I'm so picky about it.

So if you don't want to plod along on a hybrid, don't worry. A roadie with decent wheels is up to the task.