I bought mine to ride the neighborhood roads, gravel paths and woodland trails with my daughter. It's perfect for that. It would be perfect for commuting as well, but not practical for the distances I have to drive. It's an excellent fitness platform as well. I've dropped about 10 or 12 lbs since the spring when I picked it up.
It has fuelled both an addiction to cycling and a craving for more speed, however. A road bike will be joining it presently. Does that mean my original hybrid purchase was a "mistake"? Not by a long shot. Had I started out on a road bike - as so many here seem to suggest as the better course of action - I probably would not have become addicted to cycling in the first place. Because it was those early morning before-work trail rides that got me hooked in the first place. And the more upright riding position contributed to both comfort and confidence (better visibility in traffic) in getting back into cycling after a few decades off.
Actually, there is no question that a racy drop-bar roadbike would have been a mistake as an initial purchase. And a much more expensive one at that. Maybe we should stalk the purchase threads in the road bike forum warning of the terrible dangers of making the "mistake" of buying a road bike as a first purchase.
I kid, I kid...
