Evidently some people don't recognize these. Check this thread for a bit of clarity: http://www.twospoke.com/forum/f3/hybrids-181/
I think hybrids are great for 1st bikes or for someone who is starting up again. They are fairly comfortable and the wheels roll easier than a MTB.
Trek has 2 categories for hybrids, Urban & Bike Path. But is seems the bicycle community in general has settled with Hybrid for these types.
It's a bike that runs on a giant cell phone battery and is ridden by celebrities who want to be thought of as "green" like Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and George Clooney.
So a hybride have a linear pull brake or disk brake, instead of cantilever brake for the cyclocross and the handlebar is a flatbar or monkeybar on a hybride and we have a regular road handlebar on a cyclocross and the last most difference is the tire on hybride we gonne have a 700x32-35 with hard rolling surface for a cyclocross we have a tire with more grip on the tire side .... just take a look to the pictures .... cyclocross bike hybride bike
A cross between a road bike and MTB, where an upright riding position and comfort are given design precedence over performance. Variations include the flat bar road bike, which is technically a hybrid, yet offers excellent performance at the higher end of the price scale.
they are not trail bikes. at least not a trail with any elevation or regular bumpy terrain. most don't have shocks and the tires are semi-slicks. you get rattled in these... but they are quick!
Yeah, Trek refers to it as a comfort bike, which for me, it is. It is just the ticket for what I want and need at this time, I am very pleased with it.
Awesome their the best of two worlds. I used to ride one when I borrowed and it was smooth on street and dirt. I miss it but my neighbor moved(divorced) now I don't have one.
My Trek hybrid is my favorite bike of the four I have. I am planning on swapping the handle bar for a mustache or albatros bar and I'm going to swap the grip shifters for friction end bar shifters. It has more of a road geometry than MTB so it should look really good.
My “newbie” testimony, by comparing with 4 different mountain bikes my friends own, is that a Hybrid is by far more confy to ride, more enjoyable on the road. It is also faster. On the other side, all of the controls are more “elegant” less rugged. Many parts are plastic instead of metal on the MTBs. Hence it is not able to take the beating any ΜΤΒ would. So a Hybrid may not replace an MTB on a mountain in the same way an MTB may not compete the Hybrid on the road. It is up to the user to clearly define his goals and make the right decision…