Originally Posted by
Njord Noatun
Not looking for a "race bike" (in which case I'd most likely be limited to ERTRO 622, anyways) or anything too precious - "sport casual" may describe it well: The intended use will be mostly commuting and weekend training rides, so it really just needs to be solid and somewhat peppy. In this role. it will be replacing a Bridgestone 600 (circa 1983), FWIW.
Modern fat tire road bikes will take 35c and above tires. They're what used to be called sports touring bikes or sportive or audax bikes in the UK. Not all 700c road bikes are skinny tire bikes. Expand your horizons.