Originally Posted by
Black Bud
You have got it!
As for all of you who are complaining that "hybrids" are "ugly"? Who in the heck cares what the bike looks like, as long as it does the job one wants it to when one wants to do it?
Think of a "hybrid" as the often the best "tool for the job at hand" for everyday use when speed and looks may not be a factor, but urban "toughness" and load bearing capacity is (not everyone feels comfortable on a full-out heavy load touring bike, after all).
Well, many people do actually care about how things look. "Beauty saves the world" as Stepan Trofimovich put it. I for one enjoy looking at beautiful things, like an Italian high-end vintage lightweight.
The problem is that not only are the hybrids ugly, they AREN'T fit for purpose. If the purpose is to ride in the street, a road bike is quicker, lighter and looks better. If you want to ride to work through a rough forest or something, you might want to get a cyclocross. Most people, at least around here, don't carry any loads, except their generously proportioned behinds, on their dorkomobiles. The only thing that hybrids are optimized for is dorkiness...