Ride the 7000 for a while. Seriously. I commute to work on my $3k carbon fiber road bike, with clipless pedals, too. I purchased a hybrid last year and I have ridden it about 10 times. I really need to sell it; I hate it. There are people here who hate road bikes. But I don't like the upright riding position and the handlebars make me feel like the wings of a 787. I prefer drop bar road bike. I do also like riding on the weekends, or taking 1/2 day off and showing up at work after a 35 mile ride.

$1500 will buy you a nice 105 level component 20 lb aluminum drop bar road bike. The Felt Z85 is still a well specced bike for the money.

I recommend getting enough miles under your belt before deciding what to purchase. I've seen Trek 7000s at work and they look like really nice bikes for mountain bikes.