I'm with you. I just can't comfortably ride a road bike either. All my friends do. Specialized Roubaix, Cannondale Synapse. Giant Defy, etc. all nice endurance carbon road bikes, but just not me. Been on a quest to try and mimic the road bike to keep up, but with a straight bar. Bought 2015 Sirrus Carbon Elite. Stickered for 1,500, but got it for 970. Too hard to pass up. I do regret at times not having the higher end wheels and components of the expert or pro. Do have new tires and upgraded wheels coming though....I still lag by 1-3 mph average speed behind my road bike riders. Hopefully wheels and tires will help...