I'm still on the lookout for the perfect commuter bike. As I told the salesperson at my LBS, I have my old road bike, a Schwinn, which is great for riding on mostly level ground. Trouble is that this is a very hilly area, and that bike's high gearing makes hills seem almost deadly. So, I bought a nice Haro MTB at the LBS and equipped it with skinnier tires. It's great for hills cause its gears are so low, but on level ground it's easy to get into top gear and start running out of resistance. Seems like that problem will only get worse as I get into better shape.

A comfort bike's not the answer, and a hybrid is unnecessary cause the bike will only be on pavement. Don't want any suspension forks or seats for that kind of riding.

The person at the LBS recommended a flat-bar road bike like a Fuji Absolute 2.0, one of which they had in stock. Looks like a decent choice. The one they had was a 21", which could be a good size for me at 6' tall with a roughly 30" inseam. He said its gearing system has all of what's good about mountain and road bikes. The tires are thin, and the posture's road-oriented without being aggressive. The bike also has all the fittings for installing racks.

Guess my questions are as follows:
1) Is this a good bike?
2) If I wanted something similar only with drop bars, what would be a good choice? Drop bars seem to be more versatile.

Thank you,
-Bill