Originally Posted by
hokiefyd
I would consider a 26" if they came on modern bikes in adult sizes with good components. You can often find them on big box bikes, and sometimes even on mainline brands (like the Giant Sedona), but they often don't have better equipment. The Sedona meets some of my criteria, but it has a suspension fork which I don't prefer, and it has mechanical discs, and I'd prefer hydraulic. The Trek 8500 I rode all week in Utah on vacation had 26" tires, and it was a blast to ride. I'd definitely look at 26" bikes if they had the features I want.
There are 100,000 26" bikes on CL for dirt cheap. You can just outfit them any way you want (many have disc brakes too). I think the only thing they don't offer is through-axle (but no hybrids I know have TA anyway). If for some reason I would like 26", I never would buy new.
The used market for 29"/700c is basically empty (probably the same for 27.5") and/or highly overpriced.