Originally Posted by
ptrqc
Coming from Europe (years ago...), still don't understand complete lack of choice of good hybrid bikes (not road-bikes-with-a-flat-bar, but the real thing with MTB gearing) in North America.
North america is an automobile dominated area, in europe the bicycle industry is much older and more people uses other transportation options than owning a car.
Remember the General Motors streetcar conspiracy? This speeded up the transformation from electric transportation towards internal combustion engines.
In germany trekking bikes have been the most popular ones and still are. In english they're called hybrid.
ziv-zweirad.de/fileadmin/redakteure/Downloads/Marktdaten/PK-2018_13-03-2018_Praesentation.pdf