Go for the one that feels good.

IMO 8 gears would be fine - except I am an the prairie and overpasses are about as steep as we get! and b: I've never had trouble with hills. However, C: there is no hill too steep to be walked.

I guess one question to ask would be whether you're thinking of doing solo rides or club rides, and if there's a bike club, do they have "entry level" rides? The one place a "slower" bike can be a nuisance is riding with people who have faster bikes and knowing you could keep up if you had better gear. However, in our club we've sort of grown a group of people with "slower" bicycles. It wasn't always thus and I know it's not true everywhere.

In general, though... get what you will *ride.* You might end up trading in for thinner tires - that's good for 2 mph right off - but a decent hybrid can be a friend for life. I am still riding hybrids myself and I can pretty m uch ride with anybody I want to... and it all started with a Giant Nutra "entry level" one, that was the one that *felt* the best.