due ruote 

Are there any vintage hybrids that used top end tubing? I am guessing the top XO models, but those are pretty rare and equally pricey.
Most of the others I have seen from Bridgestone, Schwinn, Specialized, etc. are decent quality frames, but down a peg or two in terms of tube set. Am I missing any gems?

thook

my '93 mongoose crossways has db'd tange tubing. prestige i think? i'd have to double check. pretty good, no?

but, maybe you're thinking even better. trek is likely a good candidate to investigate

edit: apparently i was confusing the tubing of the mongoose with my tequesta....which has tange infinity....not prestige. anyway, mongoose...just plain tange maintubes

canyoneagle 

Early 90's Trek hybrids (750, 7900) come to mind - probably more run-of-the-mill tubing, but nice frames, nonetheless (the 7900 was an early carbon fiber model)
Otherwise, going way back, I see the old Mixtes of the '70's as the precursors to the "hybrid" concept (though the mixtes often had drop bars). Gitane, Motobecane, and others used 531 on their better mixtes, if memory serves

DorkDisk

Trek 750 from 94 to 97 used TT "OX" tubing which is reserved for the upper tubesets. A 21" frame w 2 headset cups weighs in at 4lbs 15oz, so its far from impressive but not terrible. These old Treks were not light, but the tubing was "good."

I seriously doubt a Mongoose hybrid had Prestige tubing. I bought a Prestige frame in 93, it cost 700 for the bare frame.

Clang

Bikes like the Trek 750 and Diamondback Overdrive used True Temper AVR



I'm surprised the 1991 Bianchi Project 7 came with SunTour XC Pro components. This was the tubeset:

DorkDisk

Aside from the carbon models, the Al models used Easton ProGram tubing - the best Al tubing at the time.

clubman 

Miyata used butted cro-mo for most hybrids but I liked the 92 QuickCross in bonded aluminum with cro-mo fork. Jack be nimble...
There was also an aluminum cross but I think it was set up like a road bike.

sheddle

Wasn't Ritchey Logic/Tange basically a MTB version of Prestige?

sheddle

also full DB 531 YO



The extent to which the Raleigh Super Tourer counts as a "hybrid" is left to the reader to determine




also I believe the Miyata TripleCross used the spline/triplebutted Miyata tubing which was considered excellent by road bike standards.

thook

yeah, got things a tad confused. i edited my post above

thook

that's a 700c bike? that thing is awesome!! any idea what tires those are?

edit: oh, i see they're panaracer smokes. in 700c, though?

icemilkcoffee

Well, I don't know how you define vintage and how you define hybrid, but the Lemond Poprad was built with 853 tubing in the early 2000's and then built with True Temper OX in the late 2000's:


The Jamis Aurora Elite used 631 tubing:

clubman 

700 X 45 to be exact...

AngryFrankie

The Schwinn Crosscut bikes and Trek 750 (790 if you see one, but they don't appear often) use TruTemper. They are very nice frames. The Treks are maybe a little more finished and better paint. These are the two that come to mind and are plentiful. You should be able to find one without looking too hard.

thook

boy i sure wish they still made those. they'd fit my mongoose!

John Nolan 

As sheddle points out, later Triple Crosses have Miyata's triple butted splined tubing...not too shabby.

thook

ohhh yeaaahh!!!

Clang

Well there's this

nlerner

There are lots of 700 x 45mm tires out there; there’re just called 29” x 1.95!

mstateglfr 

There is no shortage of 42-50mm 700c tires with tread these days. They are just marketed as adventure/aggressive gravel tires.

r0ckh0und

The original Surly Cross Checks used Reynolds 653. They also had a 1" head tube.

panzerwagon 

Miyata Alumicross circa 1990 was aluminum, assuming you’re not strictly interested in steel. It was near their top cross/hybrid and came with the Deore DX group (MT-62), ultegra bar end shifters, Nitto dirt-drop bars, etc.

thook

Clang nlerner mstateglfr

thanks, gentlemen. i know... there's lots of options these days. the fire cross have been one of my fav's for years. and, right now, i have some vee rubbers in 45 with a cross country type tread. the smokes are a classic, though. i've ran two sets in 26 over the years. and with that tan wall, the smokes just look excellent. to me, some of the tan walls these days are a bit over done with the big ars brand label on the side

DorkDisk

They barely made them back then; IIRC the complaint back then was that once you wore out the tires, you had no other choice. 700c knobbies and non slicks in general were not commonly available back then.

thook

well, that kinda sucked for them, didn't it? i didn't even know they existed...lol. all i even had at that time was a 26" GT backwoods. i don't even think i had a road bike