why2not

Hybrid. Mid 90's steel frame. Comfortable, durable & all the dropouts I need.

matthew_deaner

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. Hybrids are, by design, all-terrain bikes. Therefore, in my mind, that aligns them more closely with mountain bikes than road bikes. The geometry of hybrid bikes resembles that of mountain bikes, as do most of the components.

Then, there is the Trek FX series <sigh>... not really a MTB, and not a road bike. Not really made for off road use either. Maybe it's just a "commuter" bike?

matthew_deaner

You're right about the MTB categories... should have added rigid.

The FX is definitely not a touring or cross bike. It defies categorization. Probably "other" is the best choice...

matthew_deaner

Sure, I'll snap a pic of it today with my cell phone. I leave it at my girlfriend's house in Bloomington, where I work and go to grad school. It's working out great for getting me around campus. I left it pretty much stock, but converted it to fixed gear. I took off the freewheel hub and relaced the back wheel to a Formula flip-flop hub, even reused the old spokes.

hairytoes

26"-wheeled steel touring bike, takes tyres up to 2" width.
Drop bars with brifters and a triple on the front.

kle

I ride a 2007 Trek 1500 triple (road bike, through and through) on my 40-mile (soon to be 50-mile) round-trip commute that I'm gradually Fred'ing out:

first came an SDG BelAir FX mountain-bike saddle, then the lights (a cheap set of blinkies), replaced with better lights (a better blinky taillight and a CatEye HL-EL510), and then still-better lights (two Dinotte 200Ls on the handlebars), then a tail rack + panniers, and finally, a set of Planet Bike Speedez Road clip/strap-on fenders.

Once I receive my Planet Bike Blinky 7s and Super Flash and mount them, my Fred'ing will be complete!

It's still beautiful, though =)

spokenword

my brevet bike is basically a light tourer. Max tire capacity is 30mm inside the fenders and long-reach caliper brakes (might be able to go up to 32 without the fenders). It's lighter than my old Trek 520 but not as light as most road bikes. Has braze-on's for rear rack, fender stays and lighting rig for generator headlights.

Geometry is more compact and nimble than the touring bike, but not quite as skittish as a traditional lightweight racer.

So, basically, somewhere between your choices 1 & 2

SSP

I checked touring/cross, but I commute on three bikes:

During the winter, a Surly LHT with drop bars, downtube shifting, rack and fenders and 700x28 Marathon Plus tires.

During the summer, I'm more likely to be on my Trek Madone 5.5 SL racing bike.

If I'm training for a triathlon, duathlon or time trial, I'll ride the Leader TT bike (usually with the Zipp 404 clinchers).

SSP

Brand and model? Sounds like a nice bike.

bikingbrit

'71 Columbia Tourist. American made "3 speed English" type.

tate65

Commuter specific, not touring. basically a flat bar road bike but can take up to 43 tires. lots of mount points, fenders and rear rack are all part of the deal

Banzai

I think it's funny how many "Other" votes there are. Do so many people have bikes that defy definition/classification?

brunop

other--fixed gear. 44/16. 4eva.

matthew_deaner

Isn't your fixed gear a road bike?

matthew_deaner

I don't think so... I just think that it's really hard to classify bikes. I tried... but obviously, it's not working.
I think lots of flat-bar commuter hybrids are going into the touring/cyclocross category... bummer.

joelpalmer

Other - old ('74) Schwinn Speedster 3-speed upright. Banana yellow too if that makes a difference.

joelpalmer

Probably not "defy classification" but bikes like mine don't have a category.

dewthedew

kilo TT

climbhoser

In the summer I ride my road bike, a '91 Cannondale 3.0 with 7 speed Suntour GPX, upgraded Ultegra/Open Pro wheelset and an upgraded carbon fork w/1" threadless headset. Obviously drop bars and Bontrager hardcase tires (23mm). It has NO braze ons, caliper brakes and NO room for fenders. It is a true road bike (albeit old) and is fast and fun to ride.

In the winter I've ridden lots of different bikes, but they've always been MTBs. This year it's my '97 ProFlex 857 with XT ders. and gripshift, Magura hydraulic brakes and big fat tires (WTB Velociraptors). It is a true FS MTB (albeit old) and is slow as hell, but fun to ride.

I checked other because I don't have just one bike. I lust for a Surly CrossCheck, but the fundage has not been there thus far. A MTB build on a rigid frame would be about $100-$200 cheaper for me, but less versatile. I hope to have the cash soon, however....maybe from selling my car!

Quickbeam

I usually ride my Rivendell Quickbeam, which is sort of a lugged steel, single-speed, sport touring bike with ample braze-ons. I usually run 32mm tires on it. If it's really windy or if I need gears for some other reason or if I just feel like a change, I'll ride my Rivendell Atlantis, which is an ultra-versatile (I've had 42mm Conti Top Touring tires on it with fenders) geared touring bike. So anyway, I voted "touring/cross bike".

redfb

i ride a cannondale f600 with forte city st 26x1.5 it is quick enough for me and works great in urban terrain. I would love a road bike but i don't think the wheels could take the beating i put on them.

M_S

I have two bikes here at college, a tourer and a cross race bike. My commute is three miles one way so it's basically a sprint no matter what I'm using. Since it's winter I use the same wheelset for the cross and touring bike (the cross wheels with knobby tires). The touring bike has a slightly more upright position and bar ends instead of brifters, but for the purposes of the commute they are very similar.

I tend to take the cross bike if I want to do some longer ride after work, but usually I go home first anyways, so it hardly matters.

spokenword

Custom built ANT Club Racer

ANT being the shop of Mike Flanigan, co-founder of Independent Fabrication and the original designer for the IF Club Racer and IF Steel Independence)

Banzai

Hmmm...I don't know. A lot of folks who have said "other" have amplified the choice by stating that they have some form of hybrid.

I've seen a few kinds of hybrids out there. I've seen the ones that are basically just street friendly MTBs, and I've seen the ones that are more like "road" bikes...700c skinny tires, 52t chainrings, etc...just some "relaxed" geometry and flatbars.

Which is like my Fuji absolute. And given the length of those chainstays and the available attach points once I converted the handlebars I'd say it makes a quite passable touring bike.

Some hybrids are clearly a "utility road" bike, while others are very much gentrified MTBs.

ralph12

My bike is a utility-converted MTB. I switched the knobbies for semi-knobbies (which I'm going to switch to slicks; I wish I'd done that in the first place), added fenders, a rack, two Wald folding grocery baskets, and the usual other stuff (lights, mirror, etc). I also added a Delta threadless stem-riser. The riding position without it is excruciating for my back, abdomen, neck, everything. I like to lean forward from the waist, as opposed to bending my spine.

It's great, but very heavy. Its weight is probably pushing 45 pounds or more. The stock saddle isn't extremely comfortable, but I haven't found one I like enough to replace it with (yet).