Originally Posted by giantcfr1

Bikes Direct advertise the bike as a road bike though. They are clearly trying to distant it from a hybrid.
From their site: "Cafe bikes are road bikes with flat bars and adjustable stem so you can ride with more comfort and control than a regular road bike and far greater speed than a hybrid or comfort bike."

Slim as you know, the problem is (as discussed many many times), no-one can to settle on a clear description of a hybrid.
Lately, a large number of flat-bar road bikes have appeared on the hybrid forum, with absolutely no MTB parts on them. Basically, stick a wider than 23mm tyre on it, and people now say it's a hybrid.

EDIT, take this as a grain of salt, I've been drinking red wine tonight.