Hybrid Bicycles - Did I Build A Hybrid?

These descriptions throw me some times. Long before I knew of these designations I started making changes to my touring bike to make it more accommodating as I've changed over time. I bought a Puch Meteor Luxe new in 1981 and it's always been kept indoors and cared for. Over the years I've changed the seat (wider), bars (upright), stem (more upright) to make it easier for me to ride longer. I'm still using the original Sugino crankset, DiaComp center-pull brakes, Sun Tour freewheel, dérailleur and stem shifters though I do have a modern Shimano BB. They're not the original wheels but they are still 27x1 1/4. I love my bike and the fact that I can be comfortable and still go fast. I really do not covet any one else's bike or set up. I'm at ease with my "Fredness".

Is this a hybrid or just a mish-mash of parts?

These descriptions throw me some times. Long before I knew of these designations I started making changes to my touring bike to make it more accommodating as I've changed over time. I bought a Puch Meteor Luxe new in 1981 and it's always been kept indoors and cared for. Over the years I've changed the seat (wider), bars (upright), stem (more upright) to make it easier for me to ride longer. I'm still using the original Sugino crankset, DiaComp center-pull brakes, Sun Tour freewheel, dérailleur and stem shifters though I do have a modern Shimano BB. They're not the original wheels but they are still 27x1 1/4. I love my bike and the fact that I can be comfortable and still go fast. I really do not covet any one else's bike or set up. I'm at ease with my "Fredness".

Is this a hybrid or just a mish-mash of parts?

Am I the only one that wishes the term "hybrid" would just fade into obscurity. Sounds like a nice vintage bike you've got there. It's amazing how long stuff will last and remain perfectly functional if adequately cared for.

Am I the only one that wishes the term "hybrid" would just fade into obscurity. Sounds like a nice vintage bike you've got there. It's amazing how long stuff will last and remain perfectly functional if adequately cared for.

I think we are stuck with it and it.

Blame it on Gregor Mendel!

Hybrid is a very useful word. Don't let it's use as a marketing term change that.

slorollin, Your bike is not a mish-mash, it is "customized". :)

Bicycles had been relegated to sport in America, neglecting their ability to be used for transportation. A bike like yours in another country might be just a bike, but in USA, where mountain bikes and road bikes have dominated the market, bikes like yours have only recently come into wider use. If you want to categorize it, I'd call it a hybrid or maybe a utility bike. If you don't want to categorize it, just call it a bike.

Am I the only one that wishes the term "hybrid" would just fade into obscurity. Sounds like a nice vintage bike you've got there. It's amazing how long stuff will last and remain perfectly functional if adequately cared for.

This is meant with all do respect, If a bike is not a full fledged road bike, and is intended for MTB only,
but designed to do a some of both, you would call it a _________ ? Just Wondering, Richard

3 styles of bikes that ( I ) think could fall very close together are a, commuter, touring bike, and a Hybrid, the rest
all have there own place in terminology. Beach cruiser, Road Bike, MTB, Etc...but a Hybrid does not have to be
a commuter, as many people commute on road bikes, and might not be up to the standards of a hard core
Touring Bike, so they do have there place...Richard

you would call it a _________ ? "Bike." Why does everything need a label?

This is a commuter, tourer, trailer tower, and holds it own on the road as long as the speeds don't exceed a cruising speed of 35kmh... and that is just because it is geared lower to do the first three things.

Pretty much any bike can be a commuter as everyone has different commuting requirements and my commute is often a 100km round trip or includes an over nighter and I often pack a lot of gear.

I often forget that it folds up and just see it as another useful bicycle.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/forrest21side.JPG

"Bike." Why does everything need a label?

Because people like to give names to things so they can talk about them more easily instead of constantly having to describe them.
It would be a bit silly to not make categories in bikes and simply call all of them "bike", wouldn't it?
There is a huge difference between road racer bikes, full suspension downhill mountainbikes and beach cruisers ... if you do not want to make that distinction and you insist on doing downhill races with big jumps on your full carbon road racer, be my guest :)
Or if you really want to go road racing with a beachcruiser ... well ... to each his own, right?
Going beachcruisin' with a full suspension mountainbike ... you'll be fine (because anything beats a cruiser), but it would be overkill.

Face it ... there is a need to label bikes.
Not everything is easily labeled though ... so a bit of explanation is usualy still necessary. ;)

Sixty Fiver ... THAT IS JUST GORGEOUS! :D
Is that a 42-53 double racecrank to make up for the small wheels?
What is the cassette and derailleur?
Definately the coolest folding bike I have ever seen.
The burned colors on the frame look flashy ... are they leftovers from welding things on?

This is meant with all do respect, If a bike is not a full fledged road bike, and is intended for MTB only,
but designed to do a some of both, you would call it a _________ ? Just Wondering, Richard

Call it anything but "hybrid" :). IMO, that label/name sucks on a multitude of levels. I guess mine are full fledged road bikes if you will, as the designs, i.e., Giant FCR1 and Trek 7.9FX, were never intended for any offroad duties of any sort. I have never subsrcibed to that dual use scenario. I realize this is a hotly contested issue around these parts and don't want to get into it again as these things get misconstrued from all sides. Just voicing my own opinion.

Jeez guys.......... I just find out that I've now got a "Hybrid" but that name sucks. I was happy with my bike up 'til then. Thanks for the semi-topical replies.

Now I've got to get a new bike. :twitchy:

Jeez guys.......... I just find out that I've now got a "Hybrid" but that name sucks. I was happy with my bike up 'til then. Thanks for the semi-topical replies.

Now I've got to get a new bike. :twitchy:

LOL, I'm probably the only one that doesn't like that label so don't worry about it.

Jeez guys.......... I just find out that I've now got a "Hybrid" but that name sucks. I was happy with my bike up 'til then. Thanks for the semi-topical replies.

Now I've got to get a new bike. :twitchy:

It is far more important to be at one with your Fredness.

Sixty Fiver ... THAT IS JUST GORGEOUS! :D
Is that a 42-53 double racecrank to make up for the small wheels?
What is the cassette and derailleur?
Definately the coolest folding bike I have ever seen.
The burned colors on the frame look flashy ... are they leftovers from welding things on?

Thanks...

It actually has a triple 30/48/53 with a half step to make it tour worthy and runs a 13-28 block in the rear with some old Suntour bar cons and a Suntour VX S handling the shifting out back.

A 30/28 on a 20 inch wheel will give you all the low gearing you'd ever want.

The frame got a little warm when I was brazing on brake mounts, bottle mounts, and adding the rear cable guide and many folks have said I should just leave it this way... the worked over areas on the bike have been clear coated to protect them until I decide on how I will refinish the bike.

It is far more important to be at one with your Fredness.

Better Fred than dead. No black socks with sandals though, gotta draw the line somewhere.

This is meant with all do respect, If a bike is not a full fledged road bike, and is intended for MTB only,
but designed to do a some of both, you would call it a _________ ? Just Wondering, Richard

Most bikes labeled as hybrids are not all that suitable for offroad. I would never have considered taking my Sirrus on the singletrack around here.

Jeez guys.......... I just find out that I've now got a "Hybrid" but that name sucks. I was happy with my bike up 'til then. Thanks for the semi-topical replies.

Now I've got to get a new bike. :twitchy:

Haha, the meaning of hybrid bike is always a contentious subject here among us admitted hybrid riders. This forum is like a Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting.

"Hi, I'm Rod and I'm a hybrid rider." Admitting that hybrid riding has become a problem that is taking over your life is the first step to recovery.

Many recovering hybrid riders who used to post here are now riding real bicycles and post in Road or Mountain. :)

Most bikes labeled as hybrids are not all that suitable for offroad. I would never have considered taking my Sirrus on the singletrack around here.

Past tense, "would have never" is key here. Mike has been hybrid free for a while, but still visits the forum to help others. Congrats Mike and thanks!

"Bike." Why does everything need a label?

Because it makes it easier to talk about things with precision. We could replace all English nouns with the word thing but how useful would that simplification be? The design space of hybrid bicycles has become so broad over the years that by itself it is not much more useful than the word thing would be. So we often qualify it as in performance hybrid, trail hybrid, etc. It could be argued that some of the recent "pure" designs are really hybrids that have found a niche of their own. Cyclocross bikes are hybrids between road and off road bikes and 29er's are hybrids between mountain bikes and 700c bikes to name two examples. Manufacturers seem to be dropping the term hybrid and replacing it with a complex collection of model names unique to each manufacturer. Is that an advance in terminology? Hardly. Hybrid is a good collective noun for the beast and while we might replace it with another we would gain nothing and the word hybrid is appropriate in ways that most other names would not be.

Ken

Better Fred than dead. No black socks with sandals though, gotta draw the line somewhere.

Ouch, that hurt. Even Pearl Izumi socks with SPD sandals? If I had stem mounted shifters, I wouldn't go there.

We are all here because we have a problem. We need to be supportive of each other and keep focused on the goal, living hybrid-free. Making fun of my footwear is not helpful. :(

Past tense, "would have never" is key here. Mike has been hybrid free for a while, but still visits the forum to help others. Congrats Mike and thanks!

"For a while"? I sold my Sirrus just last week actually ;)

To be fair, I didn't realize what I was purchasing when I bought the thing was a "hybrid". I didn't even know there were such things as hybrids. I purchased the bike to suit my needs and desires and as those changed, I rode the bike less.

We should be buying bikes based upon what we want out of the bike and not what some marketing campaign tells us the bike is about. I have yet to see any real "hybrid" that I would consider both a great road bike and a great mountain bike. Lots of hybrids are just "mountain bikes" that the manufacturer has put slick road tires on, or "road bikes" that manufacturers have put upright bars on anyways.

We're all too tied up in labeling these bikes. I never understood the point of this forum. Most of the discussion is recreation or mechanic related anyways.

Ouch, that hurt. Even Pearl Izumi socks with SPD sandals? If I had stem mounted shifters, I wouldn't go there.

We are all here because we have a problem. We need to be supportive of each other and keep focused on the goal, living hybrid-free. Making fun of my footwear is not helpful. :(

They look great on YOU, though! I'm too steeped in my Fredness to pull it off.

Oh, thanks! :o (blushing)

We're all Freds here. You've come to the right place. :)

A 30/28 on a 20 inch wheel will give you all the low gearing you'd ever want.

Definately! I have a 30/28 as lowest on my 700c cross-wheels and I hardly ever use the small chainring, even on tough climbs I try to stay on the 42.
With my racewheels my smallest gear is 30/23 and I climbed "de muur" with that. :)
Why people want 22 teeth chainrings with 34 teeth sprockets on 26 inch wheels is completely beyond me ... I do trails through forests with loose cobbles and muddy bits on my 700c Schwalbe CX comp's with lowest gear 30/28. I do not ride in extreme mud though, maybe I would understand it then ... but I do not see the point in seeking mud to drive through ;)

"Why people want 22 teeth chainrings with 34 teeth sprockets on 26 inch wheels is completely beyond me..."

You could probably ride a steeper, more technical climb with a 22x34 on 26in mountain bike tires than you can on your hybrid. I know there are not a lot of mountains in Belgium. If you lived where Mikeshoup does, you might understand better.

"Why people want 22 teeth chainrings with 34 teeth sprockets on 26 inch wheels is completely beyond me..."

You could probably ride a steeper, more technical climb with a 22x34 on 26in mountain bike tires than you can on your hybrid. I know there are not a lot of mountains in Belgium. If you lived where Mikeshoup does, you might understand better.

I have gone on climbs where you wished you had something lower than a 22/34...

"For a while"? I sold my Sirrus just last week actually ;)

To be fair, I didn't realize what I was purchasing when I bought the thing was a "hybrid". I didn't even know there were such things as hybrids. I purchased the bike to suit my needs and desires and as those changed, I rode the bike less.

We should be buying bikes based upon what we want out of the bike and not what some marketing campaign tells us the bike is about. I have yet to see any real "hybrid" that I would consider both a great road bike and a great mountain bike. Lots of hybrids are just "mountain bikes" that the manufacturer has put slick road tires on, or "road bikes" that manufacturers have put upright bars on anyways.

We're all too tied up in labeling these bikes. I never understood the point of this forum. Most of the discussion is recreation or mechanic related anyways.

My story, Hi my name is Richard, and I am proud to be a Hybrid Rider, saved my biking life style...A little more than 3 years ago I found myself way over weight, started dieting, and
bought a full suspension MTB, around 65 to 75 pounds later, and during this time picked
up another Hardtail MTB. Most of my bike riding consisted of going to the store and the trails,
very close to my house, could not stand getting on the road though..Then June 2009 my house burns down, and was forced to move out in the middle of nowhere, tried to make making the trips to the store, but never haven't really ridden that far, and on 2" plus wide
tires, heavy bikes, could hardly make it. Almost had given up when I thought maybe a Hybrid
was what I needed. Shopped for around a month looking for one on my very small budget
at the time, and found my self with a Budget Schwinn Trailways. But the fit was awesome,
weight 31 pounds, and 700 x 38c tires, headed out for town, the closes 12 miles round trip.
A little tough, but doable. After awhile installed Topeak truck rack with panniers, lights,
computer, etc.....and discovered a whole new world of off road trails all around me..a little farther
road riding to get to them, 5 to 10 miles. Now I can say that I am an avid commuter, going to the farthest town sometimes, over 30 mile round trip, still shop for groceries, still go off road
riding (all the time ), just have to be a little less aggressive, and even found myself out just plain road riding, ( fitness if you want to call it that ), All on one bike, and it is a budget one at that. I can never see myself only wanting to ride like a roadie, nor do I just want to commute
to town, and would miss the other 2 if I went back to just MTB, (oh and have done one little mini tour, which has lead me up into planning a longer one (new style also), all off of a true
( Hybrid ) purchase. Do not feel the need for multipliable bikes, I love having a do it all in one bike. So I have four bikes in one, a commuter, light to medium MTB, light touring bike, and one I like riding just for fitness...I have posted plenty of videos on this forum to prove all
aspects of what I am saying, including you do have to spend a fortune to get a decent bike.
Sorry for the long read, :D but have never loved biking more...:) Richard :thumb:

You bought a bike that works for your needs. That's great.

Many bicycles marketed as hybrids would not have worked out as well for your needs.

Oh, thanks! :o (blushing)

We're all Freds here. You've come to the right place. :)

BTW, I'm an ex-Marylander. Go Ravens! If you're rockin' black socks and sandals I peg you for a 'Skins fan. :rolleyes:

Got that right, Baltimoron. I'm an "Inside the Beltway" Marylander. The Capitol Beltway as it's known in Baltimore.

Got that right, Baltimoron. I'm an "Inside the Beltway" Marylander. The Capitol Beltway as it's known in Baltimore.

You mean the "Sphincter"?

Not a term I would use, but I find your rough-hewn, coarse manner delightful. You're quite a character!

Thanks. It seems you also enjoy the banter and know a bit about bikes.

I lived in Dundalk, Gaithersburg, Laurel, Columbia and Eldersburg. When I worked for Kodak one of my territories was the 270 corridor from Bethesda on out to Frederick. World class traffic. That's one of the main reasons I left. My daughter lives in Annapolis and we visit several times a year. I'm ready to leave before we even get there.

I used to pick up film once a week from the Kodak processing plant in Gaithersburg, on my way home from Ski Liberty, that I would hand off to another driver in Washington DC. A couple of my fellow ski instructors worked there, Steve and Tom. You might have known them if that was a place your job took you regularly.

Traffic is the reason I can compete against motor vehicles with my cargo bike. Gridlock is my friend. :)

My field engineer group had a parts locker there and I knew most of them casually. Many of them resented us because we came and went as we pleased in company cars and they were stuck there with their punch clock. There was a lot of ribbing about "getting a real job" and that sort of thing. I don't think that building even exists anymore, does it? Kodak sold it years ago.

It changed from Kodak to Qualux (or something like that) but it's gone now. I don't know if the actual building is still there. I guess digital photography has killed off a lot of the photo developing businesses.