how to get a good flat bar road bike?

[d_douglas]

My good buddy seems to be getting into cycling. She is training for a trip to Asia with a bunch of other women early next year, and says she likes cycling, but is finding that shes always struggling to keep up with the other riders on group rides due to her $200 Specialized hybrid that I helped her find on the cheap. I would think that is due to gearing and the geometry of the bike as much as anything.

She wants the feel of a road bike, but I am suggesting clearance for 35mm tires, so I am thinking that getting an older CX bike would kind of accomplish both. I dont think a new Specialized Sirrus type of thing would be super fun when wanting to go fast on roads.

The flat bar component is because she has neck pain and I dont think being further hunched over a bike would help this. She is otherwise a considerably- more-fit-than-average-mid-50s-woman. She is 5'3" and maybe 125lbs.

Her budget is tight - let's say $1000CAD ($700US).

ANy ideas? Is there a bike that I should look out for and throw a flat bar and longer stem on it?