General Cycling Discussion - Why all the "comfort bike" hatred?

General question (after short background):

I recently test rode a Raleigh SD200DX and thought it was very comfy. Way more than my Schwinn Moab mountain bike. I am going to sell the Schwinn and WAS going to get the "comfort bike" as it seemed like a perfect mix - can do light offroad if needed, comfy, good for around town and on trails with the kids, etc. Particularly as I have spinal stenosos and need something I feel comfortable on.

Maybe long term the comfort bike is not the answer, I am glad I have discovered these forums so I can get some education on it..

BUT...

Why all the angst and bad mouthing different bike styles particularly in the threads I searched for on "comfort bikes??"

"They are for geezers..."
"They are chick bikes..."

etc...

Kind of saddening and now has me questioning my own purchase of one, as I don't want to ride out with some automatic-brand on my arse that says "look there goes a dork/geezer/loser/girly man on one of those dork/geezer/loser/girly man bikes" as these threads have made me wonder if everyone around simply laughs AT people on such things. Same goes for recumbents, cruisers, etc. One poster wrote that when riding his comfort bike other riders act like he doesn't exist when he waves in passing!!

Is it really that big a deal what someone else is riding? Does riding a classic cruiser toss you under the bus as a "loser geezer" same as a comfort bike pigeonholes you as a "girly man?"

Makes me want to avoid other cyclists altogether like you would want to avoid a nest of pre-teen girls all fighting over whose dolly is the best or has the bestist hair.

Im not trying to rattle any cages here - I am new here - but just found that a bit concerning. I would have expected more comaraderie over everyone just being on 2 wheels and riding - no matter what the bike style.

I've never noticed that....but I would sure find it disappointing if I did. As I expect most people on this forum would want to "promote" cycling, it would be pretty anti-promotional to tease others because they weren't ready or "comfortable" on a road/mountain bike.

By the way.....I am proudly riding my comfort Trek Navigator 300!!

I ride a hybrid comfort bike :D

I needed a bike to get back in shape on.
I needed a putt around bike for family rides where kids are involved.
I needed an upright bike, because of an arm injury.

I wanted road gears because when I am solo I want to be able to get somewhere faster.

I have a hybrid Giant cypress SX.... if that makes me a loser or a girly man. Oh well

I must be immune to insults as I haven't picked up on them.

I think one of the biggest reasons people down on hybrids is because they see people buying them, and then soon there after. The people who bought the hybrid wishes they had bought a road bike or touring bike.

I say buy what fits you. Buy what fits your needs. Buy what fits your riding preferences.

MOST IMPORTANT

Ignore the wanna be racers on $2000 carbons where their lips and tounge spin words faster than their legs can spin their crank :lol:

On group rides I've had roadies sneer at my old hybrid a few times. When I finish the metric at bout the same time they do, they stop sneering.
Don't sweat it. Just ride and have fun. If they're petty enough to say something, they're probably not worth knowing in the first place.

For the kind of riding you want to do the comfort bike sounds great. Buy a quality bike from a good shop and enjoy!

Any other cyclist gives you grief, pop a cap in his a** ;)

A little bit of everything but a whole lot of nothing.

If you want an all 'rounder they are good. If you want to do something well (like faster rides) it won't be enough bike for you. They are built for the average person on a bike, and most of the people here aren't that. I had a comfort MTB that I used for about 9 months, then I replaced it with a road bike. If you don't plan on getting the speed bug they work great.

My first bike was a comfort bike, Giant Sedona CX, it is a lot more comfy than 3 other bikes that were in the garage at the time of buying. As I got more experience, I found myself gravitating to "faster" bikes. Haven't bought one, but I am regularly chased out by bike salesmen after I drooled over some flatbar racer... ;) But I don't have spinal whatever. Go for the confort bike dude. Who cares what roadies think. Just don't buy a department store bike at any cost.

Get some road tires for your Moab. You are trading down. Comfort bikes are for people who are uncomfortable on real bikes. Ask your friends that ride. They won't let you do it if they are real friends. STEP AWAY FROM THE COMFORT BIKE! Stems shouldn't pivot and saddles shouldn't be mattresses.

I ride a Marin Mill Valley, a hybrid but not comfort bike. No. Don't do it! Save yourself. Yes it really is that bad!

Cool. this is comforting to me. I agree they are more utilitarian bikes, but thats OK. I like the idea of a special bike for that one purpose, but maybe someday Ill be there. In the meantime folks should still be able to have fun. Maybe I got freaked out and I should realize people dedicated enough to post on a forum like this do not always = the "regular everyday" rider just wanting to have some fun and ride around town.

qms - Sorry but I have tried some other bikes. My back cannot take it. I considered switching around tires, steeper stem, etc but in the end its still the same back killing position for me. The result is I don't ever ride. I would if it were comfortable. Plus for me there is something to be said for getting a new toy, wether it is an up/down loss/gain in bike is no biggie to me. With my back condition and facing certain surgery I highly doubt I will see the day anytime soon where I am doing any real off roading - what the Schwinn was made for to begin with. Once my back got bad that was all of that and the bike has been in pristine storage for years. Light valley rides at best with family are in my future.

Plus, to me, real friends IMHO would just be happy to know you were happy with your own bike. Its not like I would be showing up on a giant pink tricycle with pink and blue flashers and yelloy frillies hanging out of the handlebars. That would be a sight though, eh! ;)

The worst put down on a comfort bike came from my own wife, who upon hearing my elation at test riding something that was affordable AND comfortable for me goes, "You want one of those "senior old lady" bikes?"

Thanks for throwing a wrench into my manhood.

I had my revenge though when later at the local shop she test rode one herself and was like "hey, this IS nice for just tooling around town!" and actually admitted being hasty.

:)

I just look at those handle bars and the idea of speed just goes out the window. Now mind you, I have three bikes: a fast roadie with drop bars, a commuter/touring bike with flat bars and a beach cruiser with "comfort bars and a spring loaded tractor seat."

That latter bike does not mean speed to me at all. It is comfortable.

Now the insult factor is when I go into a bike shop and they look at my gray beard and older body and tell me I want a "comfort bike."

Nope, sorry, no way... I am looking for what I am looking for... don't push me into your image ya young whippersnapper. :D

When my wife started biking again a couple of years ago, she bought a comfort bike. IIRC, it was a Giant. After a month, she sold it. The problem was with the quality of the components. When she had ridden before, in the early '80s to the mid '90s, she had ridden good if not top quality bikes and was used to having good components. She did not like the entry level components on the comfort bike.

The bikes shops around here tell me the hybrid/comfort bikes are the fastest sellers. Go figure. I chose a hybrid for several reasons. I wanted a bike for bike paths and light trails with a low top tube/rack bar. The hybrids fit me better than the mountain bikes I tried.
I agree with cc rider, the roadies sneer at times. But this tortoise usually does not take as many breaks.

Be a man in the eyes of your wife. Change your tires for the road, change them back for trail riding. Women love to see men changing tires. Men love to change tires. Stick with the Schwinn for a while. Flat bar road bike OK. Comfort bike will turn you off on cycling or make you want a nice bike. It is a senior old lady bike, and your wife knows it. Listen to the people who care about you! She might say she didn't mean it. but she told you the truth the first time. You will get less action after your wife sees you as a comfort biker.

If you have fun riding it, don't sweat it. I am looking for one to ride the D & R Canal Towpath near my house since I can't ride my roadie on it.

Cheers,

Brian

Yeah the posture and handlebars dont say "speed" to me either. But neither does my 7 year old when we are out riding.

I figure if someday I want a speed demon bike for solo riding I could get a sweet recumbant or something else anyway.

Plus I am only 32. The LBS guy didn't push me into it. I rode about everything he had. He recommended it over far more expensive bikes that I could have easily been talked into.

I tried a cruiser but that seemed a bit too relaxed for me.

Without influencing my reply by reading everyone else's first...

I was riding one a year ago, and it really got me into wanting to ride more just for the sake of riding. Now 30+ miles is my normal 3-4 times a week ride, and I wouldn't want to do it on a comfort bike.

Comfort type bikes are great for commuting, and for the purposes you named. They are comfortable for shorter distances and stop & go riding. For longer distances, they are terrible. The conclusion that people will draw from this is that if you are on one, you aren't riding a lot, so they don't take you seriously. There's probably some price envy there as well. They are sort of like a small economy car, great for getting groceries and running errands, but not all that much fun to drive across three states, no good for off-road use, and you aren't going to draw the young girl's eyes.

Be a man in the eyes of your wife. Change your tires for the road, change them back for trail riding. Women love to see men changing tires. Men love to change tires. Stick with the Schwinn for a while. Flat bar road bike OK. Comfort bike will turn you off on cycling or make you want a nice bike. It is a senior old lady bike, and your wife knows it. Listen to the people who care about you! She might say she didn't mean it. but she told you the truth the first time. You will get less action after your wife sees you as a comfort biker.

LOL

Yeah, except the last ride we went on SHE was the one complaining that "her neck hurt like H3ll" afterwards. After her own test ride she dropped it and I suppose if I do it - time will tell as we see how long she can last with an aching neck as we tool around town on the way to the local ice cream parlor.

:)

........ but not all that much fun to drive across three states, no good for off-road use, and you aren't going to draw the young girl's eyes.

Well, perfect, as I doubt I will be doing any of these being married with young kids, mortgage, shot back, etc.

Im too old to draw the young girls eyes anyway....no need for me to go to jail over some inexperienced tail.

;)

Hey! maybe however I would attract the senior bunko ladies... I should make sure the thing is geared to outrun that horde!!

j/k

:)

hehe, I hear you. Don't sweat it, if you like it, ride it. There are road type bikes with more comfortable geometry, and if you decide to ride more and want something a little faster, you can look for one of them down the road.

Get the bike that fits you best and fits what you want to do with it. What other people think of it is of no consequence, unless they are offering to pay for it. I returned to cycling a couple of months ago on an entry level Trek, and to me, it's the finest looking bike on the planet. Yes, I know it's not a fancy bike, but I have put 340 miles on this bike in the last few weeks, and without it, I would have spent most, if not all of that time on my couch.

I'm feeling stronger, I'm more assertive on the street, I'm finding out the pure joy of hammering down a road from time to time, and I've almost convinced myself that I've actually made a lifestyle change.

Maybe some day I'll upgrade; probably will come to think of it. In the meantime, what others think of my faithful steed is of NO concern to me.

Flat bar road bike OK. Comfort bike will turn you off on cycling or make you want a nice bike. It is a senior old lady bike, and your wife knows it. Listen to the people who care about you! She might say she didn't mean it. but she told you the truth the first time. You will get less action after your wife sees you as a comfort biker.

a Flat Bar road bike would be worse on his back . I have a friend with back problems, and he loves his recumbent. I rode it and actually liked it a lot.

Buy the best bike that you can afford that is comfortable and fits you and just ride. Dont be influenced by some of the snobbery here. I have a medical problem but I like to ride road bikes so I ride a Sequoia Elite. It is a "comfort" bike but is not slow and, in fact, I am faster on it than I ever was on my old, uncomfortable Trek roadie. You will quickly find that speed is much more a function of lungs, legs and, in our case, comfort, rather than the type or price of the bike. Happy riding.

It used to really p!ss me off when people put someone down because they don't conform to some sort of 'norm'.... I get it all the time because I commute by bike instead of driving a gas guzzler like 'normal' people. I even get attitude from roadies because I get aroun on a hybridised mountain bike, and ofcourse I get attitude from the mountain bikers because I dont ride of 3 1/2 inch knobbies. Now I no longer care, my advice is that neither should you.

Don't listen to all these wannabe-Lance-Armstrongs or tryhard he-men that need to prove something to the world and think that every female that shares the same zip code with them somehow is sizing them up as a potential mate. They're a bunch of insecure losers..... show some ballz and ride whatever the hell you want to ride, if that means a friggin comfort bike because of your medical condition or even just because you just feel the hell like riding a comfort bike then JUST GEt OUT AND RIDE IT!

Hell, I'll ride my kid's tricycle wearing my wife's underwear if/when I damned well feel like it and if some snotty little roadie with a carbon fiber pole up his azz gives me attitude then I'll just *****slap him into next week, plow straight over his 0.001 microgram frame and pi$$ on the carbonfiber splinters.

Dude, what I'm saying is do your own thing, be your own person, enjoy your life. So long as you're not hurting anyone then the rest of the world can take its *****ing and moaning straight to hell for all I care.

I was riding one a year ago, and it really got me into wanting to ride more just for the sake of riding. Now 30+ miles is my normal 3-4 times a week ride, and I wouldn't want to do it on a comfort bike.

Comfort type bikes are great for commuting, and for the purposes you named. They are comfortable for shorter distances and stop & go riding. For longer distances, they are terrible.

I ride 30 miles on my Giant cypress SX, :D It is top of the cypress line, and a HUGE differance from the entry level cypress.

I would do 100 mile trip on my bike.

Kind of saddening and now has me questioning my own purchase of one, as I don't want to ride out with some automatic-brand on my arse that says "look there goes a dork/geezer/loser/girly man on one of those dork/geezer/loser/girly man bikes" as these threads have made me wonder if everyone around simply laughs AT people on such things.

When I was 20, I was always worried about what people thought of me.
When I was 40, I didn't care what people thought of me.
When I was 60, I realized that people weren't thinking about me at all.

A comfort bike is a great all-around urban bike. I own a Marin 2004 Coast Trail. It is a general-use bike: meaning it does not excel at any one thing, but it goes fairly fast AND it can lug a lot of cargo AND it won't die on unpaved trails. I wouldn't mind having several special-use bikes if I had the money, but as long as I have only one bike a comfort/hybrid works for me.

I have customized mine a fair bit, but that's my nature and I would customize any bike, comfort or not. I get multiple hand positions with my new handlebar, go faster with thinner/smoother tires, and now use clipless pedals.

Buy what works for you.

Great! A lot of you all are making me much more comfortable and helping me realize - what matters is what's fun fur me. :)

I havd very similar feelings when I had to re-take my motorcycle license exam after letting it lapse for many years when I didn't have a motorcycle - except the second time I took it on a Vespa versus a Ninja ZX750.

I thought I was in for a nice round of laughter and stick poking by all the "real" motorcyclists when I pulled up to the test site. Wound up that one burley guy there on his bike owned a smaller Vespa and another after sizing up my scooter said it bluntly, "It doesn't matter, man, as long as your on 2 wheels and having fun its all good...."

:)

Ride what you want, when you want, where you want, while wearing whatever you want. :D

IMO, the "comfort" bike, is just a forgery of the european "city bike", which is more of a cruiser/touring hybrid than anything else.

That being said, it's not a half bad attempt...but I'd rather build up a 26" touring bike if I wanted something comfy, as it could do literally anything short of intermediate trails, all while carrying actual loads on it.

Given I have a road bike and a XC mountain bike, and the closest to a "comfort" bike I have ever gotten was putting a serfas Rx saddle on my old DB outlook.

Anywho, ride what you like, it's not about what you ride, it's about riding....just don't be one of those "once a year riders"....those people drive me nuts...swerving every which way, etc. Seriously....it drives me nuts seeing tons of people who can't ride a straight line. I don't know why, but it does. And by "once a year rider" I do mean those who don't ride enough to have learnt basic handling skills....it's not tough at all...about by mile 50 it's down pat. :)

Seriously though nothing wronng with a hybrid... this coming from a guy who when I started, got passed on a climb by an old man on a beach cruiser.

Heh, some months ago I passed a young chap on a Cervelo on a climb, me on my 15 year old Giant Innova, which is the Giant hybrid flagship and a pretty sweet ride.

Well, I have a Raleigh CS 40 comfort bike and it works just fine for me. I use it for both commuting and exercise. I will have to replace the slick tires with regular MTB tires. The front tire already has two holes in it from glass bits.

Maybe later on I will get a real mountain bike, but I have to get in shape first!

I have a Marin Stinson comfort/mtb bike from my mom who never used it. I put new tires on it and have subjected it to some pretty nasty offroad (Chumash trail, Simi) and 700 or so miles of road riding before I got my road bike. I chucked the big seat (stuck on a nice NOS vetta saddle) almost immediately since all the padding hurt during anything longer than a couple miles, plus the shock absorber on the seat is pretty worthless. The big seat is very counterintuitive because you think that its more comfortable, but it really isn't. Comfort bikes aren't really THAT much more comfortable when you ride more than a couple miles, but I am very impressed with mine considering what its been though.

Can't say enough about Marin. Obviously the geometry on the bike is nice, but its very light considering how cheap the bike was, plus its durable as hell as I subject it to pretty scarry 3-4 foot drops fairly often. Even the generic Marin suspension performs alright, even against a Judy setup. Commute on it now to the hospital I work out around the corner, along with more MTB when I can get around to it.

I just switched from a mtb to a Pilot 2.1 specifically for the more upright geometry. I was in a bike accident a couple of years ago and managed to break the heads on both my radius bones in my arms (torque going over the bars is something). After healing up I could not ride more than 15mi on the mtb due to the pressure on my elbows. With the more upright geometry and having my hands vertical instead of horizontal on the bars I now can do 30mi with little discomfort. There is a bike for everyone, go with what fits your style best and don't worry about others

I guess I'm probably guilty of a little comfort bike hatred myself, but it's probably due to ignorance on my own part. When I first saw one, I assumed it was just a marketing thing that didn't serve any purpose that a touring bike did not already serve. I guess it does have it's niche though, so I'm trying to appreciate them for what they are.

Just because they're happy voicing their disdain for "comfort" bikes doesn't mean they're in the majority.

Ride what you want, when you want, where you want, while wearing whatever you want. :D

Ditto. Could'nt be said any better. It's not about what you ride. Just that you ride. I really get tired of every bike having to be put in some category. And some categories being looked down on. If you like it and feel good on it then that's what you should be riding.

SS

When I bought my first bike as an adult, I bought a mountain bike and basically turned it into a comfort bike because most of my mileage was on the city streets and paved paths. At that time there were only two choices. I rode many centuries and even rode 176 miles one day on that bike. Today I have a mountain bike, a touring bike, a road bike, a comfort bike, and several others that are in various states of disrepair. I use them all. When I go on trips to other states and plan on doing some bike riding while there, my wife and I normally bring our comfort bikes. It is probably the closest to an all purpose bike available. Is it the most efficient? No, but it get the job done. I don't care what others think. The real bike forum members only care that you are pedaling down the road/path/trail one pedal at a time with a grin from ear to ear and a peace in your heart that surpasses any of the problems others may see in your choice of vehicles. Hey, I'll ride with you anyday no matter what your choice of bikes is. In fact, just the other day three of us were riding - me on my road bike, Don on his recumbent, and Amanda on her comfort bike. We started together and we ended together and that's what made it enjoyable.

Ride what suits you and your purposes the best. It's your money!

I have a hybrid Giant cypress SX.... if that makes me a loser or a girly man. Oh well



I have the LX, and no one has dared call me either loser, or girlie man! :D

http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/7839/8837sa.th.jpg (http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/7839/8837sa.jpg)

http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/434/8820tb.th.jpg (http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/434/8820tb.jpg)

Ha Ha Ha, $2000 road bike, I have a $5000 comfort bike, when fully loaded. I still pass them with easy.

GEEK

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks- if you like it just ride it-

I just think that as you get more into cycling you will see the shortcomings of the comfort type of bike and want something a bit more efficient and faster- I have a friend who is looking for a bike at the moment and I went with him to the shop last week. He is a bright guy but knows nothing about bikes. He went straight for a comfort/city bike. I was just horrified. He started looking at an 18+ kg aluminium framed (why oh why!!!) monster bristling with chainguards, suspension bits, kickstands and and huge great bendy handlebars. It was all I could do to not to break down and shout "no please for the love of cycling no...". I think a few sobs still forced their way out.

He is the one that has to ride it. It's just that I think he would get so much more out of a lighter and more efficient bike.

I got into it with a girl on another board some while back, who was mocking people who rode mountain bikes on the street. At the time, all I had to ride was my old Trek mountain bike, and by god, I rode the heck out of it, on the streets, mostly. I told her I was the run-what-ya-brung kind of chick and wasn't about to get too hung up about whatever anyone else thought of my ride. It's not like I'm asking anyone else to ride it! I also suggested that I probably had better legs than she did, on account of the workout I got out of riding a 40lb behemoth of a bike at speed. Because I'm a brat. :p

I think I'd say the same thing if I was a comfort-bike rider and someone was razzing me. "My bike, not yours." That being said, I don't think I'd buy a comfort bike, not when I've got a perfectly nice road bike and a complete beast of an old mountain bike. I ride the roadie when I want to go fast, and the MTB when general toughness is of the essence. But in the thread about "is compact geometry ugly" in the road-bike forum, I opined that I didn't really give a rat's about how my bike looked--that was the last thing on my mind when I test rode it and it was so perfect for me. Who cares how it looks or how it is classified, if it does what you want, it's the bike for you!

I couldn't agree more with the "Do your own thing" crowd and not worry about what the snobs think-

When they start paying my bills I'll give some thought to their opinions-

I ride a big old Columbia Superb dashboard bike-I ride for exercise and just to enjoy the day-Talk about a big old cruiser!!-I really don't give a $h@#-what anyone thinks-

I'll make a bet that if my bike and snobs high end racer were parked side by side that my bike would draw the crowd-

I get smiles, thumbs up, and lots of questions where ever I go-

My beater is a girls, yes girls Mango Kia single speed coaster brake oldie-Anyone ever hear of a Mango?-I hammer this bike on a regular basis and I feel no threat to my manhood at all-

To hell with what others think unless you sleep with them and/or they pay your salary/bills-

Just my .02--End of rant

Regards-Bob

I'll echo what a lot of others have said. Ride what you like and screw everyone who sneers or chucles at your hybrid/comfort bike.
I get sneered at by roadies all the time as I'm dropping them on my C-40. (especially the three in Discovery kits I dropped last night).

Bike companys are looking for new markets and ways to sell more product, hence 'comfort bikes'. Not being privy to the marketing meetings, you could guess they might have gone like this....'we have all these fat forty-to-fifty-something baby boomers out there with plenty of money who won't ride a bike. Their asses are to large for a regular bike seat - maybe if we take a low-end mountain bike, bolt on a set of shock forks and seatpost, and a huge farm-tractor saddle, they might ride it?...yeah...lets do that..we will sell millions of them...!!!!'

IMHO, you don't need a shock fork or seatpost to ride on the road (or off-road). If you take the time to learn, you can lift your butt off the seat for large bumps and just ride over the little stuff.

A 'comfort bike' could be easily converted from an old obsolete road bike - flat bars, wide tires and low gearing is all it takes.

Ride what you want. It's your money.

In addition to some of the legitimate shortcomings cited above about speed and weight, I think comfort bikes get a bad rap for 2 other reasons.

Part of the animosity may stem from cheap Xmart comfort bikes that slap any old thing together in any old way and that tarnishes the whole class of bikes. In a similar vein, many riders of comfort bikes have never had them properly adjusted so they look like an uncomfortable ride to a passing biker. A decent quality comfort bike or hybrid from a bike store is a world apart in quality and rideability.

Secondly even though many serious cyclists are somewhat to very anti-car they are not immune from the general competitiveness of who owns the best toys. For example, a minivan is a very functional vehicle that serves many families well, but owners are unlikely to draw admiration from passersby. It is the same for the comfort/hybrid bike -- utilitarian, dependable and a good general performer -- just not the stuff of drooling daydreams.

So ride the bike you want that best fits your needs. I think buying a bike that best fits your needs and your body is the bst way to spend your money. As you grow accustomed to the bike then make modifications that will better tune it to your needs and riding style. Comfort/hybrid bikes can be pretty adaptable so they can extend their utility as your abilities grow. They'll never replace a road bike or touring bike for their respective tasks, but then most riders don't do those things.

sorry, I overlooked the part about your spinal condition. I still think you could convert the Schwinn, 1.25 or 1.5 inch tires with road tread, and a riser handlebar, maybe new stem, voila comfort bike without the stigma. Can't you replicate the position of a comfort bike by changing a few parts? Get a really good suspension seatpost. That will be better for your back than the cheap stock suspension post on the Raliegh.

To those riders who are strong enough to chase down and drop roadies on their comfort bikes, you have my admiration. That sounds like fun! That's one good reason to have a comfort bike, to bring the snobs back to reality.

It's not about the bike. A bike is to ride. Whichever bike you will ride is a good bike for you. Thanks for taking my previous post with the humor I intended. Yes, I was joking, but I really would hate to ride one of THOSE bikes.

Schwinn Moab is a nice bike, it can serve as mountain and cruiser. Tip; every time you go to change the tires or once a week, wash the wheels. Then you won't get so dirty when changing the tires or fixing a flat out on the road.

My beater is a girls, yes girls Mango Kia single speed coaster brake oldie

When she's not looking, I'll raise the seat on my wife's comfort bike and borrow it for a quick spin to the grocery store/coffee shop/video store. It has a step through frame and big wicker basket on the handlebar. I look like a complete dork but nobody cares, least of all me.

RFM

After being off bicycles for 20+ years and being 50 years old, my wife and I just couldn't decided weither we wanted a "Road or a Mountain" bicycle. The LBS, suggested a comfort/hybrid bicycle, especially for my wife as she is "very short legged". We ended up with the 2005 Fuji Monterey comfort bike's, 27 speeds, more "road gearing", (48/38/28), than the normal mountain bicycle and set up with proper placing holes for racks, front and rear. They were affordable at $400 each and I've really enjoyed the machine, It's great to have a bicycle that if it turns to "dirt" or gravel on the trails, you just keep flying down the path!

I just completed a paved road, 1/2 century for my 50th. birthday on August 5th. and was surprized how well my "comfort" bike went down the road. On the way back down a "two lane" road a dump truck decided to take all the "paved road", I got pushed out into the bumpy dirt, gravel, the "comfort bike", handled it with ease, if I'd been on a thin tired road bike, I'd have crashed, no doubt in my mind!!! I've followed all the "pure mountain bikes", everywhere except for the ultra-narly singletrack and that's only because of the "traction limits" of my "snakebelly tread OEM tires". Been thinking of putting on a "bit more" agressive knobby and I'd be able to follow the MTB riders anywhere. The best thing about buying the "Comfort/Hybrid" bike is now I know for sure, I don't want a better road bike, I want a full suspension MTB to go play in the Narly Singletracks.

I'll having a set of "road wheels" and high pressure almost "slick" 1.5 road tires put on my "Fuji Monterey" and it will become all the "road bicycle" I'll ever need, JMHO! :)

a hybrid might also be an alternative to a comfort bike. although the hybrid is a bit more straning on your back, its not THAT bad, and you can go pretty fast on them, becuase they are a cross between mountain and road