Love my Cruzbike. I'll never go back to diamond frames for road riding. The learning curve is steep initially, but gets better quickly with practice. Eventually it becomes completely second nature. I ride in a mountainous area. Yes, I find long, steep ascents a challenge, but not an obstacle, and the downhill reward makes it all worthwhile. On long, flat-ish rides, nothing beats it, and I can at least keep up with, if not pass, boy racers half my age. Cruzbikes are also crowd pleasers, so expect to get lots of stares and smiles.