Thanks, everyone for all the info. tcs: My commute is about 7 miles and only really has two steep hills, but they are pretty steep (at least they feel pretty steep when I'm riding my old centurion dave scott with the 52/42 crankset and the 7 speed cassette). As for handlebar choices, I prefer drop bars, or perhaps inverted north road. I'm so used to riding with drop bars that when I rode my brother's hybrid this morning with flat bars (the centurion is all stripped down and the frame is at the powdercoaters until the end of next week), it felt weird, too wide. I understand it's more maneuverable, but to me, that just makes it feel skittish.