Originally Posted by
prairiepedaler
Hi Trak, I thought I'd leave it out due to the 26" wheelsize. I was trying to limit the thread to 700c based hybrids. They seem to be most populace size in the hybrid category.
That's a good policy for this thread, I think. The Rock Combo was just too weird to fit neatly into any category, anyway.
Speaking of weird, the very first hybrid I am aware of was pictured in a what-will-they-think-of-next sidebar in the early '80s, in either Bicycling! or Bicycle Guide. Some guy had installed a rigid MTB fork and flat bars on a sport touring bike and was using it off-road.
The bike had a big 26" knobby tire in front. The rear was the original 27" or 700c wheel and a tire with as much in the way of knobs as would have been available then, I believe. I was inspired by that to buy a similar bike at the Schwinn dealership where I worked at the time. I outfitted that bike with flat bars and a pair of tubular wheels to which I glued Barum cyclocross tires.
Used that off-road for a few years. Fun bike. (Lost it when I absentmindedly left it on my car's bike rack overnight. Came out in the morning to find it gone and a Huffy cruiser left in my driveway.)