Like you, they lost me with the bars. My aesthetic sensibility is defined by an earlier era, so it's just another variant of weird looking to me. I'm probably not the target audience...I doubt I'd lay out a whole lot of money for a bike that's primary purpose is commuting. I do like the 1x part of this, especially given Shimano's turd FD trim.

You'll pry my drop bar MTB commuter... No worry about chipped paint, or corrosion. Ample chain stay length and rack (I have big dawgs), great tire selection (including studded), reasonable weight when it has to be carried. Comfortable as heck.