The Townie makes a fine commuter, I know this because I own one (a Townie 24) and I commute. My route is 12 miles each way and moderately hilly (whatever that means to you). The only thing required to take the Townie out of the "mature" catagory is to replace the riser bar with a flat one. You can then set the bar height about an inch above your knee height and apply some real torque to the pedals. Some serious hill climbing and across the light acceleration is the result.

The price was right. In the next year I will go with a Rans Zentik Tour for commuting duties, price being the major factor. If I were to keep the Townie I'd put it on a bit of a diet but really it's the geometry I like.