Well, I actually meant a flat bar road bike. I've settled on the Cannondale Quick 2.
As far as my friends, one used to ride with a group but he was the slowest and had trouble keeping up (the group rode at around 18mph). He says he'd rather ride slower and be more relaxed, he's not very athletic but neither am I. The other is my cousin who runs marathons and wants to get either a fast flat bar or a true road bike.