way early in the hybrid development period, where manufacturers couldn't decide if they should be more like road bike geometry with fatter tires, or flat bar mountain bikes with skinnier tires. if i'm remembering the Bicycling or Bicycle Guide article right, they tested a bunch of hybrids available at the time, including the Bruce Gordon Rock and Road, and a bunch of others. this was around the same time Tomac was racing mountain bikes with drop handlebars.
the next year, Specialized came out with their Crossroads line of hybrid bikes, more like mountain bikes with skinnier tires than the RockCombo was.
if i get motivated today, and the rains come as predicted, maybe i'll see if i can dig up that article.