Originally Posted by
Herzlos
The worst choice thing is sort of fair - a proper mountain bike is better off road, and a proper road bike is better on the road, but a hybrid will be better off road than a road bike and better on the road than a mountain bike.
Is it fair? You just described my gravel bike - which is really just another variation of a hybrid. Yet, that "worst choice" has turned out to be the best choice for routes that combine a wide range of surfaces. On many dirt fireroad climbs, it's a better choice than my MTB. For rough pavement descents, it's a better choice than my road bike. I wouldn't pick it for fast group road rides, or for technical rocky singletrack, but I have been pretty impressed by how well it handles the wide range between the extremes, and it has opened up ride route options that I wouldn't do on my other bikes.
That said, I understand that your intent is probably more about the bikes I previously referred to as "mediocre".