Hybrid Bicycles - New bike is hard to classify

My new 2013 Specialized Crosstrail Comp Disc is a bit hard to classify, which maybe by definition puts it in the hybrid category. It has deep road bike style wheels, but with 700x38 tires with a rather unique tread pattern and Presta valves; a road-like 2x10 drivetrain (SRAM X7), but with a very wide range cassette like an MTB; below-bar shifters like a flat-bar road bike; hydraulic disc brakes; and other details like concealed cable routing, lockout fork, etc. Not to mention an attractive paint job (I'm not a big fan of the trend to flat black as a bike color!).

It's a weird time of year for a new bike here in Michigan, when I probably can't ride it for at least another two months, but I'm really looking forward to the versatility that this bike appears to offer. FWIW, it's replacing an older Giant Sedona LX (called a "comfort bike" at the time, which I really hated). I also have two road bikes, one set up for light touring and the other for carbon-framed speed.

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From all of the reading of forums and looking at websites, I have the following come to mind when people mention bike types. road bikes tend to have drop bars skinny tires and lighter on the weight side. Any bike with a suspension fork, fat tires and flat bars is a mountain bike. Hybrid is in between, but almost always flat bars, 28-35 tires, 25+ lbs. Then there are lots of other types of bikes: city, comfort, etc that look a lot like hybrids on some kind but are have different names as a marketing gimmick to have appeal to a broader range of shoppers.

From the picture you show, that looks like a mountain bike. A very nice bike indeed. I like the color. Congrats. And why not ride it in the winter? It has studded fat tires and disk brakes which might make it a decent winter bike. We don't really have winters on the coast in California except for rain and nasty 40º weather :-)

It's a hybrid. What's so hard about that?

It's a hybrid. It's not a serious MTB,and it's not a dedicated street bike,it's a dual purpose.

The 10spd drivetrain is the Hot New Thing.

(RANT WARNING)

10spd first appeared on MTB's for the pro guys. They're serious athletes,and just never needed the tiny 22-24t small rings on MTB triples. So the manufacturers started doing 2x9 setups on their high end MTB's. Somebody came up with the idea that if they switched to 10spd like the roadies,they could shave weight(lighter chain/rings/cassette). Then they came up with the mondo 11-36t cassettes so they could gear the bikes down and still only need two rings up front. The fact that skimpy 10spd bits wear out(and cost alot more) than 8/9spd didn't matter,because the pros don't buy their stuff,they get it from their sponsors,and it only has to make it through one race. All very well and good,except now they're putting 10spd,with MTB triples,on mid range bikes. So now you've got weekend enthusiasts and commuters who're wearing out their drivetrains faster,and paying more for parts,and not getting any real benefit.

If I ran the zoo,10spd(and the new 11spd) would be top end only. Mid and lower grade would be 8/9,so that mere mortals could save money.

Enjoy your bike,there's nothing wrong with it. Just realize you're going to be replacing parts more frequently,and spending a little more,than you would if you were rolling 8/9spd. Not trying to bring you down,I'm just not pleased with the way the industry is trending toward the pros and leaving the little guy behind.

It's whatever you use it for. Go ride it and enjoy.

I posted this just for general interest and, as noted, don't really care what someone calls it; it is what it is! In general, it'll be used 99% on local streets, on paved and hard-pack rail-trails, and on rural dirt roads. That's one reason why the more road-style 2x10 drivetrain appealed to me; on my previous typical 3x8 bike and living in mostly flat Michigan, I rode almost all the time on the middle ring and very rarely on the small one. This will do fine for the occasional rolling hills, and will do very well on the long flats.

Also, having two other bikes as well as being an avid runner, I don't put enough miles on a bike to ever really wear anything out other than tires. And I'm meticulous about doing my own maintenance to keep everything adjusted, clean, and well-lubed. And being 66yo I'm a lot easier on the equipment than in my younger days.

Thanks for all your comments. Maybe I was just looking for an excuse to show it off to an appreciative audience! :)

It's a hybrid. It's not a serious MTB,and it's not a dedicated street bike,it's a dual purpose.

The 10spd drivetrain is the Hot New Thing.

(RANT WARNING)

10spd first appeared on MTB's for the pro guys. They're serious athletes,and just never needed the tiny 22-24t small rings on MTB triples. So the manufacturers started doing 2x9 setups on their high end MTB's. Somebody came up with the idea that if they switched to 10spd like the roadies,they could shave weight(lighter chain/rings/cassette). Then they came up with the mondo 11-36t cassettes so they could gear the bikes down and still only need two rings up front. The fact that skimpy 10spd bits wear out(and cost alot more) than 8/9spd didn't matter,because the pros don't buy their stuff,they get it from their sponsors,and it only has to make it through one race. All very well and good,except now they're putting 10spd,with MTB triples,on mid range bikes. So now you've got weekend enthusiasts and commuters who're wearing out their drivetrains faster,and paying more for parts,and not getting any real benefit.

If I ran the zoo,10spd(and the new 11spd) would be top end only. Mid and lower grade would be 8/9,so that mere mortals could save money.

Enjoy your bike,there's nothing wrong with it. Just realize you're going to be replacing parts more frequently,and spending a little more,than you would if you were rolling 8/9spd. Not trying to bring you down,I'm just not pleased with the way the industry is trending toward the pros and leaving the little guy behind.

And I wish we had an 8 speed Deore groupset with 8 speed Deore friction thumb shifters (and chainguard on the crankset like they do in Europe).

the middle ring of the typical hybrid 48-38-28 is a fairly low gear range. old school road bikes, the SMALL ring was 42T, and we climbed mountains with a 26 or 28t rear.

I'm out of shape, overweight, and 58, and I find myself in the big ring most of the time when I'm not climbing hills. I do use the 28t granny front on major hills as I'm so out of shape. I got rid of the lame 11-34T 8 speed my bike came with in favor of a 13-26T cassette, that still gives me a silly low gear for almost any long grade I care to ride up.