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Old 08-29-09 | 09:30 AM
  #2  
tatfiend
Gear Hub fan
 
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 2,829
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From: Reno, NV

Bikes: Civia Hyland Rohloff, Swobo Dixon, Colnago, Univega

Most new inventions use the technology of the time in some respects and incorporate them in a new combination. Does that make them hybrids? Currently as applied to bicycles it normally means a combination of road and MTB features and concepts.

The Draisine (?) was apparently an original concept in overall layout but used wheel technology from carriages of the era. Same for the first front drive pedal equipped bikes of about 1868. They were a Draisine with pedals added to the front wheel.

Some technology developments were originally first widely applied to the bicycle. Examples are tension spoked wheels, ball bearings, seamless tubing and butted tubing. Also the pneumatic tire though it had an earlier precedent used on a few carriages.

The original MTBs were hybrids which combined cruiser and road technologies as they were cruisers with derailleurs. It is from the old Schwinn cruisers that the tire size of standard MTB tires is taken. Even there they were taken from 1930's European heavy duty bikes. The MTB triple crankset was taken from European touring and randonneuring bikes. Many of the first MTBs used TA triple cranksets.

If borrowing of components or concepts is the criteria for a hybrid then every bike, and trike, ever made is a hybrid in some respect. So are virtually all vehicles as there has been a lot of cross fertilization of ideas in 150+ years.
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Gear Hubs Owned: Rohloff disc brake, SRAM iM9 disc brake, SRAM P5 freewheel, Sachs Torpedo 3 speed freewheel, NuVinci CVT, Shimano Alfine SG S-501, Sturmey Archer S5-2 Alloy. Other: 83 Colnago Super Record, Univega Via De Oro

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