What exactly classifies a bike to be hybrid? A lot of different styles of hybrids out the. They look a lot like a comfort bikes. I'm a little confused. Hopefully someone can clear it up for me.

There are a lot of different types, from comfort bikes on the slow end to flat bar road bikes on the fast end.

Pretty much anything between mountain bike and road bike. Heck, put smooth tires on a mountain bike and that may as well be a hybrid too. It is a blurry segment that encompasses a smorgasbord of different styles.

That's the best definition I've heard.

Hybrid: Not a mountain bike, not a road bike...It's anything in between.

So a "comfort bike" would also be a hybrid? Correct?

If some bikes are comfortable does that mean the rest are not? (What's a comfort bike?)

To me hybrid bikes are somehere between road bikes and mountain bikes. The tires and wheels are bigger than road bikes but not as big as the truck like tires found on mountain bikes. Gearing on hybrid bikes falls between road and mountain bikes. The frame geometry is designed to allow a more upright riding position. The hybrid is designed for riding and handling at speeds somewhere between the high speed road bike and slogging speed of a mountain bike.

I would definitely say a comfort or lifestyle bike is NOT a hybrid. Using Giant as an example, the Cypress is not a hybrid. At all.

It's pretty much just a "dumping ground" for any bike that doesn't seem to fit one genre and isn't a "specialty" bike like a fixey or cruiser. And some DO lump plain jane looking comfort bikes in this category. It means whatever the user wants it to mean.

I guess hybrid a still confusing to me. I did get some clarification on the matter. I do like them and had my eye on them for some time now. I recently bought a comfort bike and yes Delmarva there are bike called comfort bikes just like mountain bike or road bike. Your right though just because it says it's a "comfort bike" does not mean others will not be it's just geared to be comfortable however you comfort and someone elses comfort are different.