Originally Posted by
sjanzeir
1. Does such a beast really exist?
2. My goal is to ride old, poorly maintained asphalt, flowing singletrack, and some hilly routes around where we live, as well as some general-purpose urban riding.
3. I'm not interested in drop bars or carbon. Flat bars are a must; aluminum is fine, but (affordable) steel would be really nice!
4. In terms of geometry, durability, and equipment (and upgradability,) how far from (or how close to) a true XC bike does a quality, well equipped hybrid fall? (Think along the lines of the alloy Trek FX gen. 4 or Trek DS gen. 5.) Will either of those types of bike do for my intended purpose instead?
5. Is it really a flat-bar gravel bike that I want but I just don't know it yet?
I'll ask more questions as they come to mind or as inspired by the replies.
If you're not after blistering times then rigid fork MTB is one possibility. There are not many of those available off-the-rack. Adding a rigid fork of the appropriate ATC to an XC/trail bike is one option.
There are some decent mid-90s MTBs that make for good flatbar gravel bikes. Right around 1997-1998 was when lightweight high-quality rigid MTBs started disappearing. Trek/Gary Fisher/Klein, Mongoose, KHS had some pretty nice ones in the 25-pound range. No disc brakes though. There were plenty of light hardtails from the era also, which you could put a rigid fork on.
For a modern flatbar gravel bike. Not many choices off-the-rack, but the first one that comes to mind is pretty awesome (price no object)
https://www.scott-sports.com/global/...gravel-rc-bike
