Originally Posted by
Inusuit
I don't know what to call this and don't care. Works for me on pavement, dirt roads, light gravel, ranch two tracks, MUPs, etc. Yes, I know it's a "mountain bike." About $150 in narrower tires and shorter stem. Bike was $50 on Facebook Marketplace. A new bottom bracket, chain rings, chain, and crank arms at no cost due to Shimano crank arm recall.
Here's my wife's version of that same exact bike. Her other bike happens to also be a Rockhopper, set up pretty much as originally intended with flat bars and fat tires. The rural area we live has mostly dirt/gravel roads, and rigid steel mountain bikes with big tires are perfect for 80% of our riding. The wide gearing also helps since it's somewhat hilly.
But I wanted to build her something for the MUP. She had just gotten back from a trip where everyone rented bikes for the paved path along the ocean, and they were single-speed, coaster-brake beach cruisers. She said she had a blast riding it. So I built her this. She's running on Pasela 26x1.5.
That's my Trek 750 with drop bars in the background. It was actually marketed as a hybrid back in the day. I'm running Schwalbe Little Big Ben tires.
It's always mostly about the tires. Multiple wheelsets make a bike SO much more versatile, and I have that with all my mountain bikes (all rigid steel). Road bikes not so much - I can't swap wheelsets between any of mine.