Carson Dyle

Most of those I see online look like commuter bikes. Typically flat bars, often a rack and fenders, sometimes a chain guard. The biggest common design feature seems to be a steeply sloping top tube and upright riding position. Some of them look a little bit absurd, some of them look very absurd.

What is the target usage? Are they commuters, bike path comfort bikes, bikes for older riders?

(Is there a FAQ somewhere?)

giantcfr1

You could check wiki, as it may give a description. My opinion is a bike that can handle a trail and road situation. If the bike has a chain guard, basket, sloping tube etc. is an individual's choice.

NormanF

A traditional opafiet is a workhorse bicycle. They're designed as reliable transportation and errand bikes. They're beautifully outfitted for what they do.

The Dutch Gazelle Toer Populaire is a classic example:

RickGr4

Personally I think the "Hybrid" category is incredibly vague and needs to be further defined. Hybrids try to be everything to everyone, yet in the process they end up being great at nothing in particular. They are the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry of bikes.

That being said, Hybrid bikes must work for me. I have two of them.

catgita

When the category was invented, it was a general purpose sporty recreational machine for people who did not feel comfortable in the few other categories of the time. Road racing, (cross country) MTB, touring, beach cruiser. The magazines did not know what to make of them. Test riders hated them, but they sold very well, for reasons that in retrospect seem obvious now.

They are still a category, largely defined by their generic nature. More upright, sturdy, medium size tires, no racks, lights or fenders. They can be re equipped easily to be sold in several categories, especially utility, city and commuting.

The problem with categories is that they ultimately are too confining. The days when a machine had to fit clearly in one category are over.

practical

Some people have tried to split the "hybrid" category and now you have "performance hybrid" meant to be a pavement bike and ridden like a road bike. There are also "flatbar road bikes" which is often built on a road bike frame with road bike components.

ColonelSanders

I guess people will have different opinions and in recent years the lines have blurred a little bit, but for me the most significant criteria that has to be met for me to call a bike a hybrid, is for it to have flat handlebars and/or non-dropbars.

Pompiere

Hybrids were made to appeal to consumers who may not know much about cycling. When mountain bikes came long, a lot of people bought them because they didn't have "those hunched-over racing handlebars and hard skinny tires" like road bikes. But the average consumer didn't need a heavy mountain bike with knobby tires, so manufacturers introduced Hybrids. They were still heavier than road bikes, but lighter than mountain bikes, with the flat bars that people liked and less aggressive tires for street and light trail use. As the market grew, some hybrids became more specialized and leaned closer to one side of the spectrum or the other. You decide what kind of riding you want to do, and pick a bike that suits you.

JGM411

It's the bike I bought prior to me knowing what I wanted in a bike, i.e. road bike .

In hind site it wasn't necessarily a mistake as I could have gone either way. One way was the road bike while the other alternative would have been a true comfort bike.

I think hybrids are good transition bikes for those just starting out riding and not knowing what they really want. By definition, a hyrbrid is kind of a do-all bike.

I still have the bike as I keep hoping my wife will start riding with me, but I am not holding my breath that she will. She has a comfort bike which has been rarely used.

ColonelSanders

Another thing I strongly associate with hybrids is larger tyres than what one finds on Road bikes, but not necessarily as wide as the tyres found on mountain bikes.

Grey.

We have a seperate forum for utility bikes, that's a roadster not a hybrid.

fietsbob

Hybrid, not quite a mountain bike , not quite a road bike , Hybrid.

badger1

Obvious troll is obvious. Nice try, though.

Carson Dyle

Thanks for that valuable contribution.

I appreciate the other responses. Ok, I can see where it must have originated, as a hybrid between a road bike and mountain bike. I even see some manufacturers with some kind of inexpensive front shock on what they label a hybrid. With many others, though, it's all over the place. If I were to categorize most of them, it would probably be comfort bike due to the upright position. Certainly nothing that I'd want to take onto even a gravel road, let alone a trail of any kind.

NormanF

Its the ancestor of the hybrid bike: upright bars, relaxed geometry and provision for commuting/errands.

The hybrid bike is a lighter and sportier version of the roadster.

badger1

You are most welcome.

NormanF

My GT Eightball can be taken out on gravel roads/light trails as it can accept 40 c tires. Not all hybrids are suitable for off-pavement rides; it depends on the bike.

Grey.

I do it all the time. You don't need a suspended bike to ride over some gravel.

corwin1968

Some of the early attempts at creating a "hybrid" were actually 26" wheeled bikes with more roadish geometry (Bridgestone XO's and Specialized RockCombo) but neither caught on and bikes with 700c wheels, mid-sized tires (30-40mm), MTB components and mostly MTB geometry became accepted in the mainstream as "hybrids". They were literally designed as hybrids of road bikes and mountain bikes and were intended to fill the space between the extremes of road racing and technical trail riding....or in other words, where most people actually ride their bikes.

I got into biking when hybrids were a new category and it was literally road bike, mountain bike or hybrid (I don't think any serious rider would consider a cruiser) so the decision was easy. I purchased a 1995 Trek 730 Multitrack which is the very definition of a hybrid. Now I ride a Surly Karate Monkey that I built up from a frameset. The KM is most definately designed as an MTB but it has the same geometry as my Trek 730. I'm currently riding it with 40mm tires so it's effectively no different than my 730, which had the exact same components on it two weeks ago. Is my KM a hybrid or an MTB? I haven't decided on the answer but I did post it in the hybrid picture thread. If I slapped 2.3" knobby tires on it, I would have a little harder time thinking of it as a hybrid but tires alone don't seem to be enough difference to make the distinction.

I've read a lot of discussions on this topic and I'm leaning towards deciding that the term "hybrid" is outdated and should be dropped. That class of bike either no longer exists or it has been remodeled and renamed (ie, dual sport bikes, gravel grinders, etc...). I'm sure the marketing folks can come up with clever categories for different bikes but some obvious ones include commuter, city bike, cruiser, comfort bike, flat-bar road bike, etc.. A hybrid can be used for any of those purposes but I don't consider cruisers, comfort bikes or flat-bar road bikes to be hybrids. If a bike was designed from the ground up, in the constructeur style advocated by Jan Heinie, as a commuter for example, I wouldn't consider that a hybrid either. Dual sport bikes blur the line a bit and I haven't decided if those are hybrids or not, but they are certainly closer than most bikes.

1995 Trek 730 Multitrack....most certainly a hybrid:



2008 Karate Monkey....same geometry as Trek 730, same components as Trek 730.....is this a hybrid?

forresterace

Quote - in the constructeur style advocated by Jan Heinie, as a commuter for example,

Does this make him the butt of your joke?

corwin1968

It was an early, pre-coffee post and I couldn't figure out how to spell his name. I also wonder how it's pronounced: Jan (as in Brady Bunch) Hinee (as in butt) or Yon Hyna, as I was taught to pronounce it in my high school German class?

DBrown9383

There seems to be a general dislike of "hybrid" bikes on the general and road bike forums. Not sure why though. I have what I believe is called a "comfort" hybrid. It has the suspension seat post and the suspension fork. For MUP's and doing laps around the neighborhood it's ideal. For more serious road riding or if aerodynamics and speed are a consideration the hybrid falls short obviously but the buyers of these bikes usually aren't concerned with such things. Where's the love? You should have seen the disappointment in the LBS guys eyes when I told him I was interested in a Trek verve. He wanted to see me on a bike with drop bars and a carbon frame of course

Bill1227

Easy - It was a mountainbike modified by the owner for on/off/touring/commute all purpose use......



Now - it's a over analyzed, over marketing pile of garbage that even includes flat bar roads bikes.......to nearly anything you want.

Its not that "hybrid" is "disliked" it's the entire drama,change,BS that is "disliked" by and including me.

Comfort hybrids,road hybrids, black,white and blue hybrids.........youth hybrids,old hybrids,etc,etc.........it's all BS.

Grey.

That's an interesting post......but, I think, you dropped......some ellipses.....

Darth Lefty 

You can take any bike with 32 tires up a gravel road with no problems.

Hybrids have existed since the late 80's shortly after mountain bikes took over the market. They more or less replaced 3-speeds. As a do-it-all bike, they have the advantages of mountain bikes (especially easier posture, wide gearing, and I'd argue better braking) without the performance disadvantage of heavy, knobby tires, or being built to land jumps and drops. But I suppose they didn't get very popular until recently because it's easier to market tough-guy mountain bikes, the same way it's easier to market tough-guy SUV's.

The market segmentation today is amazing. How many bike models do you suppose Trek sells? It's like a dozen in each segment. It must be over a hundred, does it add up to two hundred? And that's not even counting sizes, either.