This is a bit of thread necromancy, but I saw one in person yesterday at my fave bike shop. The tubes are fairly thick, and there's no mistaking that it's a 'modern' bike - no 'japanese steel' old-school appeal.

I'm not sure why folks are so down on it. It looks pretty sweet on the frame size I'm interested in - an XL. It's also not a track bike - it has thick rims and tires, and the stance felt a bit less aggressive. It felt a bit closer to some of the cyclocross bikes I've looked at. The LBS also let me know, in no uncertain terms, that the 'Giant' logos are stickers that can be easily peeled off.

I'm too old/bulky/fat to be a hipster, so that doesn't matter. I don't want the stance of a track bike. If I want a flip/flop hub bike to tool around on locally, and I don't want to spend more than $500, what's wrong with it?