Old 09-05-11 | 10:01 AM
  #8  
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Pobble.808
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Joined: May 2006
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From: Lost in Space

Bikes: 1970s Royal Scot 3-Speed, 2005 Breezer Villager 7-Speed IGH

Originally Posted by buffalo_cody
As far as how bike manufacturers market bikes I think "city bike" is just another label for "hybrid".
If you accept the criteria in the OP, which sound pretty on-target to me, some hybrids won't qualify.
When I was younger and more innocent, I bought a Sirrus on the advice of the LBS after having told them I was looking for a bike for urban commuting. Very nice bike for weekend rides, but definitely not an upright riding position, and the threadless stem made raising the bars a PITA. It didn't come with fenders; a different LBS managed to get a pair on but they complained mightily about how hard it was to get the rear one to fit and I could see that it was true. No chainguard. Way more gears than I needed (triple chainring IIRC). I replaced it with a Breezer which has all the stuff mentioned in the OP and have been commuting happily on it ever since.
So sometimes the distinction may just be about semantics or marketing, but not always, and if you don't know what you're doing you may not end up with the right bike for the job.
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