Originally Posted by
stark
I ride a Specialized Sirrus Hybrid, and I swear by it. It's fast like a road bike, but versatile. I can even take it offroading on moderate trails. I've had it for about 7 years, no major repairs. Hybrids are almost as popular as the fixed gears here in San Francisco, and more practical given all the hills.
The Sirrus shows what a useless term hybrid is; some are sit-up and beg bikes, while the Sirrus has almost the Allez racing bike's geometry - slightly stretched at the back to take fenders - combined with flat bars. That said, I'm lukewarm on mine. I've had MTBs that accelerated just as fast and had both more agility and stability on the road when slicked up, and *much* less road buzz. (Notably a Tange Prestige Shogun, which I suspect was actually a re-badged GT.) Which also shows what a useless term hybrid is...