Originally Posted by
skinned knees
I'm looking for a "comfort" bike to use around town and take on trips.
...I was looking at a motobecane jubilee ...
The Jubilee does not appear to really be a comfort bike. It uses a conventional frame, the only concessions to "comfort" seems to be pieces that can be put on any frame (adjustable rise stem, shock forks & seat post).
One factor that comfort bikes tend to share is that the bottom bracket is placed forward of the seat tube, and not on it. Moving the pedal position forward makes sitting upright a lot more comfortable. See the Electra Townie for an example.
The Townies are okay for what they are; my main gripe is that Electra insists on putting suspension forks on all the upper-end models of Townies.

On a normal geometry frame you tend to lean forward and rest a lot of weight on your hands--but with the lower hand pressure these bikes provide, the shock-forks really shouldn't be necessary.
Day6bicycles (online) would be another possible candidate.
Up around $1000, there's the RANS crank-forward bikes. They were supposed to be coming out with a
Dynamik frame sized for taller riders. RANS put up a website with forum for these bikes, at
http://www.crankforward.com/ -where the RANS as well as other similar bikes get discussed.
I have a RANS Fusion and like it, but I
probably could have lived with a Townie too.
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