Different classes of Hybrid.
 

When I was ordering my new Merida hybrid during the week I mentioned that it looked quite different to what I expected from a hybrid and different to the other hybrids in the shop. The sales man told me it was a sports hybrid but I had never heard that before. Admittedly I never payed any attentention to hybrids before but I was just wondering what the folks on here thought. Are there many different classes of hybrid?

"Hybrid" seems to be an ambiguous term. Theoretically (I suppose) a hybrid is a combination of mountain and road bike. But then there are comfort bikes, cruiser bikes, cross bikes, flatbar road bikes, touring bikes and now sports bikes. I'm sure I'm leaving out other types as well. The point I'm trying to make is when a buyer considers buying a "hybrid", it is caveat emptor. The buyer really needs to know what he/she wants in a bike and how the bike will be used. If they know that, then they can probably find a good bike for their needs. When buyers don't know, then they "rely" on what the salesman tells them. Then the salesman will try to fit the bike to what the buyer needs/wants or the buyer to what the shop has. It might be good to have a more defined and standardized taxonomy of bike types but I doubt that will ever happen

It feels like "hybrid" is quickly becoming synonymous with "anything that isn't a road bike or a mountain bike".

There are two classes of hybrid as far as I'm concerned. Mostly on road, and mostly off road. Suspension forks and tires are the key differences. Anything else is marketing hype.

I wish Cannondale would offer a Synapse flat bar bike. I test rode some road bikes lately and just can't get into road bikes. Its fun but just seems so laborious being stretch out for any long period of time to me.

I don't care for drop bars either. I have a trek fx on road bike wheels and tires for all around use and I'm building a weight wheenie ,flat bat aero bike for fast club rides.

So what is "hybrid" supposed to be a hybrid of, anyhow? It could be marketing-speak, for "a bike with a less narrow focus as to purpose", I guess. In a way, no one should want a "hybrid" bicycle, right? it's not optimized for speed, distance, comfort, geography... it just sort of nods to all of those things to varying degrees. Most of the time in other fields, hybrids are created to solve issues or to improve certain specific aspects, of a thing, by adding desirable aspects of other things or subtracting less desirable qualities. Who knows, right? I didn't intend a hijack. Time to put a few miles on my hybrid now.
Tatt

When hybrids were introduced in the 90's, they really were hybrids of mountain bikes and road bikes. They had MTB frames, components and geometry but road bike wheels with tires in between the two extremes. They were designed to be ridden on road and in on mild 0ff-road conditions.

Today, hybrids have evolved into so many types of bikes that the category is pretty much meaningless.

True!

A Hybrid is an excepted compromise. Jack of all trades master of none.
Who cares what it's called. Do you like it? Does it do what you need it to do? That's all that really matters.

^ thanks. That's kinda how it seemed. "Hybrid" says as much or more about what it's not, than what it is - the general purpose "GP" machine (aka "jeep" but without the off-road dirt bike implications of that word) of the bike world.

To the OP, the Merida hybrids that show up in a Google "images" search look pretty much the same as my hybrid, trek 7.4fx, which resembles my co-worker's Cannondale Quick hybrid, etc. Maybe the curvy sexy top tube qualifies your Merida as "sports" hybrid, at least to the salesman. It IS a very nice lookin' bicycle after all. Now I want one (thanks a LOT brother, I have to get a dishwasher instead). All art should be as practical.

In defense of the hybrid, there are only a few things that it's bad at. If you don't need your bike to do those specific things, you're good to go. Last Saturday's ride with my home-from-school son comes to mind; 10 trail miles in the MUD was not the best test ride for his first test-ride on Dad's otherwise-awesome bike. We didn't cover the 25 miles we planned, but we worked that hard for sure. One positive, we proved that clean up can be easy, with pitcher after pitcher of warm tap water (and Mrs. Tatt's washing machine, but that wasn't for the bikes).

I agree, in fact when I was making the first post with my question, I typed then backspaced "jack of all trades" once or twice. Just I always wondered about "hybrid" label as it pertains to bicycles.

I have awesome rider-to-bike compatibility, with my Trek 7.4. As you said, I like it, it does what's needed.

In ancient times, before specialized road bikes, mountain bikes, and gravel bikes... A hybrid bike would just have been called " a bicycle".

Yeah that does often seem to be the case. It can end up being meaningless because there is no consensus and the category ends up being quite broad.

I've been saying for years that the mountain bikers and roadies are the outliers. Most people's riding is more suited to the all-purpose bicycle or hybrid.


This bike easily meets the criteria for a hybrid although except for chainstay length, it's geometry is that of a road bike. The guys who designed it and sell it market it as a city/commuter bike that can handle some cyclocross and light touring duties. It's pretty much an all-rounder or simply a "bike".

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=421705

I consider bikes with drop bars and narrow tires and lighter weight to be a road bike. Any bike with a suspension fork, V brakes, fat tires is a mountain bike. Hybrid is everything with a flat bar. Hybrids are less expensive than road bikes and suspension mountain bikes. Hybrids can be more like mountain bikes or like road bikes.

I guess comfort bikes also have flat bars, but a much more upright riding position.

It's crazy how many choices there are.

the basic limitations of hybrids seems to be a tire size smaller than 42mm but larger than 28mm.

the seat must be larger than the skinny types found on road bikes.

Handlebars can be any variation of flatbar or slight curvature, no drop downs.
Basically the frame can be the same type that are used for mtn or road.
Most frames are aluminum or the higher end frames are usually carbon.

Sounds like you ran across a 'hybrid' salesman. They are a lot like road bike or mountain bike salesmen.

What model Merida hybrid?

It's the Crossway 20 MD. It has suspension on the front forks and the seat and has disc brakes, that's what I thought set it apart from the others.

I had a mountain bike about 15 years ago with disc brakes and front suspension, it was very heavy and I only rode it for 6 months before selling it on. I didn't get a bike again until my road bike (Trek 1.2) this March.

Sounds like you have experience with suspension forks and disc brakes and didn't like it. So why are you getting one that has those features?

No, I had experience of a really heavy mountain bike that I didn't like so this time I'm going for a hybrid for my off-road cycling. The on-road bits I have to cycle to get where I'm going should be a lot easier on a hybrid than a heavy mountain bike.

What hybrids did you actually ride at the shop? Did they weigh and ride "lighter" than that MTB you had? Possibly overthinking your response, but bikes are nothing but a sum of parts. You start adding in heavier parts (disc brakes, suspension fork, beefier tires, thicker frame/steel frame) and you're probably pretty close to that old MTB, unless it was an absolute tank. Just want to avoid you selling another bike in six months!

The Merida is 14kg, it feels about half the weight of the old one. That was 15 years ago, I'm not as rash now, I won't be selling it in 6 months.

15 years, the new one probably has a better seat, better wheels, lighter tires, better brakes.

Does a pound or two really make that big a difference ??

Actually, that is exactly what I thought it meant from the beginning... The further subdivisions have done little but cloud the term. :)

Some discussions here amuse me, such as arguments about whether a specific model is a hybrid, or a flat bar road bike... To some it doesn't matter, and to others it is very relevant, and seems to be because they wouldn't be caught dead on a hybrid, but a flat bar road bike is fine. :)

I agree with some of the other comments in the thread, and back in 2003 when I bought my first hybrid, I walked into the shop and told the person there that I wanted a a hybrid that leans toward the mountain side... I ended up with one, but today it would be called a comfort bike...

Hybrid has evolved to include a variety of different labels, all basically describing where each bike falls between road and mountain, and varying somewhat between vendors. The one that amuses me is "fitness bike" since it really means nothing, but some manufacturers have decided that it means road leaning hybrid. :)