Originally Posted by
MikeDVB
I'm not so worried about looks as much as performance and quality. I don't need anything full custom as I'm not racing but I should have been more clear that I'm talking about bikes I can pick up at a local shop (there are lots around here).
I love my current bike but I want to get something a bit nicer across the board and I really do like my hybrid over road bikes mostly because there are parts of my rides where I'm on dirt or gravel and road bikes are not really good off the pavement from my experience.
I'm not familiar with hydraulic brakes on a bike but I would probably not notice the weight. Full carbon would be nice from a weight standpoint but I would be afraid I would clamp it too tight or otherwise break it.
But if money were no object, you would presumably have the resources to travel to a custom frame builder. My view is, even TOTL bikes from the big names will eventually be obsolete within a few years. A custom frame built for me is something that can be rebuilt or modified as components wear out or technology changes.