I am just getting re-interested in biking as I am 57. I am in good shape but I'm not looking to compete with Lance Armstrong. As I see the many Dutch bikes and their American copy-cat brands, I am intrigued that after almost fifty years of being forced to ride a derailleur bike with 1/2" wide wheels and a pedaling position where my backside is about six inches higher than my head, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel where I might actually "enjoy" riding a bike. I am trying to educate myself about bicycles--what is good, what is not. But as with all blogs, it isn't easy. It doesn't matter if it's someones political views, religious views or bicycle loves, people feel threatened by new things. I have a brother who is a Lance Armstrong wannabee. He never will be. But he can only think of bicycles in one way. They are to win races against the best riders in the world. If someone so much as wipes a booger on his handlebars, he has crossed over some anal weight barrier. It drives me nuts. I understand how critical weight is to racers, but us leisure riders can relax the parameters a bit. I really wish the hardcore cyclists were more accepting of all styles of biking. I have never liked derailleur systems. From an engineer's point of view, it is about the crudest design I can think of. If it were perfect, no one would be looking to design something to replace it. But it, like so many things, has its merits. But there are many types of riding. Some of us aren't interested in the Tour De France. We are only wanting an enjoyable ride to run errands, to maybe save some gas or be a bit more ecologically aware. We aren't climbing the Alps. We aren't crossing the Sahara. We are riding our mostly flat city streets where we need to stop about every hundred yards and we are carrying small packages. A bicycle for that purpose doesn't require the same engineering as a Tourer or Mountain Bike, etc. I've been intrigued with the shaft-drive bikes. I wouldn't expect one to stack up against a professional derailleur race bike any more than my Ford Contour stacks up to a Formula One racecar. There's been one blogger on about a dozen bike sites who has shown how vindictive he is against Dynamic's shaft drive. After I read the third rant by him, I dismissed him. Why? Because he has condemned a product and a company without revealing how he used that product. If he said the bike failed riding around the flat, asphalt-covered bikeways of his little town, I would take what he says to heart. If he said he was dropping off three-story buildings with it and it didn't hold up, it would be a different story. I am hoping that I can find a bicycle that has the features I need and that others can accept that it isn't what will suit them but they are okay with it. I want honest feedback, not moral rantings or unfounded biases. There should be different bikes for different biking styles. One bike is good for one type of riding and terrible for another. That's the kind of info I want. I don't want to hear that some bicycle sucks not because it really does but because it isn't a race bike and to some that is the only kind of bicycle there should be. I grew up with that narrow viewpoint. I started on a single speed, coaster brake bike that probably weighed 40 pounds and might have been a Huffy (or worse). I don't know, as my father built it up from something he pulled from a trash bin. It didn't have a nameplate. My next bike was a Gitane Interclub. I hated it. Hit a tiny piece of pea gravel on an asphalt thoroughfare and you were grabbing your ankles and tucking your head for protection. It was the days before helmets. I now have an old Panasonic MC1500 bestowed on me by an ex-wife who was trying to get me a bike with wider tires. It really hasn't suited my needs at all. So, after this long-winded rant, I appeal to the many knowledgeable, intelligent, and experienced among you to give me some pointers. I am riding mostly flat ground. I make frequent stops. I ride a few community bike trails. I wish to use my bike to replace my car for some short errands, let's say less than 5 miles round trip. My Panasonic has 18 gears, but I seldom get beyond the sixth gear in the lowest range. Are we agreed that I don't need a 24-speed trekking bike? Maybe a Shimano Nexus 7 or 8 or SRAM iMotion 9-speed, chain-driven since the consensus is that shafts are a waste of time. I don't handle the "bent" position. My wrists go to sleep and I need to keep wringing my hands to restore bloodflow. As efficiency-sucking as an internal hub dynamo is, I like the idea of never messing with batteries. I like the idea of internal hub brakes, too, but I've already had many recommendations against them because of fade. I've looked at a dozen Dutch bikes and about 40 brands of German and Danish bikes. I've looked at Breezer and Electra. I liked the different look of the German-made Patria Dublin and Patria Amsterdam. Does anyone have any experience with that brand? Can I buy one without flying to Germany and bringing it back on the airplane myself? I'm fairly sold on being able to shift gears without moving or pedaling as many times I need to make emergency stops and then start up again and at my age, starting in a higher gear is a killer. So, does anyone have some constructive suggestions or have I made everyone angy?