When I saw this thread I was wondering how smoking could be a specialized activity...
Anyway...I remember when I was looking for my first nice bike commuter the Sirrus was the sweetest hybrid out there that I saw. If I had enough cash I would have paid for it and it wasn't that exciting when I look at what is out there now. It was so light smooth and sweet looking. Anyway, I think I probably was better served by the lightly used Marin Muirwoods that I bought at a used bike shop. I have a friend that was looking at a $1000+ flatbar hybrid (roadbike or whatever you want to call it) before he spent all his extra cash buying tricked out Mini Cooper. There is a market for the flat bar road/hybrid bike.