I agree. It seems like you are forced to go the heavy but useful Dutch bike route or the light, performance bike-as-toy route. There doesn't seem to be a light-ish bike with good utility out of the box here in the American market. Dutch bike enthusiasts poo-poo the heavy weight of their bikes because they are so useful. They are, but why do we have to have a bike that weighs as much as bikes made 75 years ago. It seems like we could come up with a reliable, long last transportation bike that does weigh over 40 pounds.

The big bike companies keep making racing inspired bikes, slapping fenders or a rack on it (almost never both for some reason) and calling it good. I wish they'd actually ride what they make for their intended uses. They'd find out real quick why their products come up short.