For me I wanted a bike with options, and I felt that the flat bar road / hybrid / city speed was the way to go. Since I am in Spain, I ended up going with the Orbea Aneto, but seriously considered the Felt Speed 30, Trek 7.6 fx, Specialized Sirrus, Giant FCR 1, and the Jamis Coda Elite.

I basically wanted the stability of a mountain bike with the speed of a road bike; while its not perfect at either, it gets pretty close. Plus, it has the eyelets for mounting panniers, and room for wider tires to at least 38mm. I also like the strength of the V brakes, but it has the mounts for disks if I decide to change over.

It is more rigid since it is aluminum, so I do miss a little of the comfort of steel or mountain, but it is much lighter and thus easier to keep at speed for longer distances.