What is a hybrid a hybrid of?
#77
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Seems to apply to a lot of threads these days:
https://youtu.be/xpAvcGcEc0k
https://youtu.be/xpAvcGcEc0k
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#78
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And that the manufacturer doesn't even call them hybrids. It just a term that we as cyclists can't seem to let go of.
edit.....
Well heck, seems I'm wrong, Trek still lumps them by a Hybrid category.
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...-bikes/c/B528/
I guess just like 700C tires the term will be with us forever. The manufacturers probably wont fully let go of it as long as we continue to use it. And we won't let go of it if the manufacturers keep using it.... a viscous circle!
edit.....
Well heck, seems I'm wrong, Trek still lumps them by a Hybrid category.
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...-bikes/c/B528/
I guess just like 700C tires the term will be with us forever. The manufacturers probably wont fully let go of it as long as we continue to use it. And we won't let go of it if the manufacturers keep using it.... a viscous circle!
#79
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Historically, I believe comfort and fitness were originally subcategories of hybrid.
For a few years, pretty much any flat bar that wasn't a mountain bike was being marketed as a hybrid. The term became a victim of its own success.
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#83
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Hybrid is an utterly meaningless term. It can encompass nearly any bike with flat bars that is not an actual mtb, beach cruiser, or bmx bike. It can be a cf flat bar road bike with 23mm tires, or an upright comfort bike. Or an mtb with slicks. Or a flat bar gravel bike.
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There's always an exception. The bike made sense for him, his preferences, and the task at hand.
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Fitness bikes are actually pretty great for climbing on a road, at least as good if not better than a road bike. I've done plenty of climbing on both kinds to make the comparison.
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Maybe your rides are different, but my road rides never go only uphill
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If that's supposed to be some kind of witty retort, big misfire.
Every bike compromises something. It's really not refutation to "x is good at y" to say "not everything is y".
No one's trying to convince you to switch to hybrids, but the "they're not good at anything" rhetoric was getting a little thick in here.
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This isn't an "only" thing. Livedarklions says his fitness bike climbs as good or better than a road bike. That's great. When aerodynamics come into play (downhill, fast rolling on the flats, etc.), the road bike is going to have an advantage. If a fitness/hybrid bike is best for the kind of riding you like to do, then use that bike. Personally, I have a few different types of bikes to suit my riding choice of the day. One of those is the hipster hybrid - a gravel bike. It's not a great road bike. It's not a great MTB. It's a compromise almost everywhere, and a hell of a lot of fun.
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If that's supposed to be some kind of witty retort, big misfire.
Every bike compromises something. It's really not refutation to "x is good at y" to say "not everything is y".
No one's trying to convince you to switch to hybrids, but the "they're not good at anything" rhetoric was getting a little thick in here.
Every bike compromises something. It's really not refutation to "x is good at y" to say "not everything is y".
No one's trying to convince you to switch to hybrids, but the "they're not good at anything" rhetoric was getting a little thick in here.
My previous comment about early hybrids being mediocre (low to mid priced) bikes for mediocre (casual) riders was a generalization based on what I've seen over many years with the riders that tend to buy that type of bike, as well as how the bikes are marketed. There will always be exceptions to generalizations. Indyfabz' riding partner is a good example of an exception. I suspect you are, too. I don't know much about how you ride, but since you are a regular and long-term member of this site, it's pretty likely you aren't the average casual recreational rider.
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I was trying to make a bit of a joke. This is getting far too serious.
My previous comment about early hybrids being mediocre (low to mid priced) bikes for mediocre (casual) riders was a generalization based on what I've seen over many years with the riders that tend to buy that type of bike, as well as how the bikes are marketed. There will always be exceptions to generalizations. Indyfabz' riding partner is a good example of an exception. I suspect you are, too. I don't know much about how you ride, but since you are a regular and long-term member of this site, it's pretty likely you aren't the average casual recreational rider.
My previous comment about early hybrids being mediocre (low to mid priced) bikes for mediocre (casual) riders was a generalization based on what I've seen over many years with the riders that tend to buy that type of bike, as well as how the bikes are marketed. There will always be exceptions to generalizations. Indyfabz' riding partner is a good example of an exception. I suspect you are, too. I don't know much about how you ride, but since you are a regular and long-term member of this site, it's pretty likely you aren't the average casual recreational rider.
Sorry, but that kind of "joke" actually raises the "seriousness" rather than diffuses it--I wasn't disagreeing with him being an exceptional rider, everything indy said about him indicated he was an excellent climber. I was merely pointing out the (to me) obvious reason he was using the bike he was.
TBH, I am not fond of generalizations that label a bunch of people as mediocre. Basically, that's already fighting words.
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This isn't an "only" thing. Livedarklions says his fitness bike climbs as good or better than a road bike. That's great. When aerodynamics come into play (downhill, fast rolling on the flats, etc.), the road bike is going to have an advantage. If a fitness/hybrid bike is best for the kind of riding you like to do, then use that bike. Personally, I have a few different types of bikes to suit my riding choice of the day. One of those is the hipster hybrid - a gravel bike. It's not a great road bike. It's not a great MTB. It's a compromise almost everywhere, and a hell of a lot of fun.
The fitness bikes generally have more of a lean forward position than do other hybrids. It's really not that different aerodynamically from riding the hoods.
Honestly, I think the problem with these threads is that a lot of people generalize a lot from a very little bit of knowledge about this type of bike.
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The fitness bikes generally have more of a lean forward position than do other hybrids. It's really not that different aerodynamically from riding the hoods.
Honestly, I think the problem with these threads is that a lot of people generalize a lot from a very little bit of knowledge about this type of bike.
Honestly, I think the problem with these threads is that a lot of people generalize a lot from a very little bit of knowledge about this type of bike.
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I think of gravel bikes as the modern interpretation of a hybrid bike.
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Last edited by rsbob; 11-29-22 at 02:46 PM.