i started commuting on a proflex mtb a year ago because that's what i had. and i felt stable on it, for the most part, because of the bigger tires, upright positioning, etc. knoxville roads can be really crappy, and like most places, lots of road debris. when we have wrecks around here, most wrecker services pick up the big pieces of cars, but don't always bother to sweep up the smaller stuff. that doesn't count all of the beer bottles and other junk i find. i switched to a road bike because my commute route changed to slightly better roads and i wanted something a little more streamlined and faster. i've kept my proflex for trails and the super crappy roads.