MarcusT

It's generational.
A hybrid was the marketing hype in the 90's
A gravel bike is the marketing hype in the 2020's
And if you're offended that someone says a hybrid is the same as or a pre-curser to the gravel, you're too sensitive

base2 

A hybrid is the opposite of a monstercross.

Simple.

Rolla

You seem to be under the impression that we're having an argument. I had just noticed that, unlike their gravel lines, the hybrids don't come with tubeless-ready wheels, and was wondering if that's how Trek/Spec makes their distinction between the categories, if they're so otherwise similar.

The topic isn’t whether hybrids are really gravel bikes, or whether “gravel” is a nebulous word, or whether “hybrid” is the “better name.” The topic is whether the term “hybrid bike” still actually signifies the merging of two things, and if so, what are they?

Rolla

I think “hybrid” initially held promise as describing a happy medium between road and mountain. I just wonder if it has skewed so far away from the mountain bike side that the name really applies anymore.


Not offended, just unconvinced. But, hard as it is to believe, that’s not the topic anyway.

Rolla

Seems to be the case. Nice bike, btw.

MarcusT

I bought a "hybrid" in the late 90's and the selling point was; it was designed to ride on country lanes and gravel roads. Now, if that is not a gravel bike...

Rolla

I remember them being advertised in the late 80s as "City Bikes." Another term that bit the dust, evidently.

This was Bridgestone's take:

veganbikes

Ehhh as much as I am not usually a fan of wolfchild I think to a point they aren't totally incorrect on the higher performance hybrids are gravel bikes or adjacent in some way or not called hybrids. I think it is marketing but one could argue that a flat bar gravel bike is a hybrid should they want to do so.

Some options that fit most if not all the criteria:
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/di...=322110-199972
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/si...=322036-200213
https://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/urb...itness/sequel/
https://konaworld.com/dew_deluxe.cfm
https://www.norconorthshore.com/prod...r-384114-1.htm
https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/yarrr...ablooner-34927 (a shameless plug for myself, I do need to get photos of it in current mode but it has decent tire clearance (I haven't totally maxed it out) and fits the other requirements and has ridden on gravel many times.

Honestly in the end a bike you ride on gravel could be considered a gravel bike. Some bikes are certainly more ideal for gravel but I think we get so hung up on naming sometimes but when we look back into history most bikes at the time were gravel bikes by default as roads weren't really there. I mean look at the Buffalo Soldiers who rode almost (or maybe all) of 2000 miles back in 1897. They rode a 1x bike back then festooned with frame bags and handlebar bags and this was 1897 https://onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk/18...ding-roadster/
https://rediscovering-black-history....iment-part-ii/

I say gravel is just a surface and in the end if you enjoy riding on it and you can handle it with your bike, go for it have fun and you'll be fine.

wolfchild

Hybrid is a jack of all trades master of none type of a bike. Good for pavement, commuting, fitness riding and not too bad off pavement if you put some off-road tires on it. Just like a crossover suv.

wolfchild

Muirwoods has clearance for up to 29 x 2.1 tires, which makes it very suitable for off road riding... DSX can fit tires up to 700 x 50 mm.

subgrade

It still works like it did if you replace the "mountain bike" with "XC mountain bike".

Herzlos

I still see them as a hybrid between a mountain bike and a road bike, albeit not an aggressive version of either.

To be fair they do suit a lot of people who only want a single bike. They aren't better than a mountain bike off road or a road bike on the road, but if you only take it out a few times a year along some MUPs and easy trails then they do the job perfectly.

If I only had a single bike (!!) then I'd probably have a hybrid with one of the 63mm suspension forks, and some fairly chunky tires.

Trakhak

The term "hybrid" (referring to a practical, versatile, comfortable bike) could only have been coined in an automobile-centered country, where such unglamorous bikes were of no interest. Elsewhere, they have been used for everyday transportation since the early 20th century and are called (in various languages) simply "bikes."

BTinNYC 

Hybrid, schmybrid, whatever you want to call it, the bike for the Mrs is not out there (or I haven't found it) and all the new bikes I've seen so far require changes upon purchase.

Requirements
CF frame preferred, would go AL
commuter style handlebars, higher than the saddle
1x electronic shifting
disc brakes preferred

Canyon Roadlite CF 9 is close, would need different stem and handlebars.

Lombard

While I don't necessarily agree that a hybrid is just a straight bar gravel bike, my first adult bike - a 2002 Cannondale Silk Adventure 400 has clearance for at least 45mm tires. Some gravel bikes don't have that much clearance. It also has a front shock which most modern hybrids don't seem to have. In fact, when the Cannondale Quick first came out, I didn't see it as anything except a road bike with straight bars - or what I called a "rybrid" or somewhere in between a road bike and a true hybrid bike. Today, my old hybrid would probably be considered very close to a hardtail 29er. And looking at today's Cannondale Adventure, it looks more like a comfort bike than a hybrid.

PeteHski

In the UK "hybrids" are usually flat bar road bikes with upright geometry and fairly wide tyres. Aimed at either city commuters or for very tame on/off-road riding. Also mostly aimed at the lower end of the market, although Canyon offer some pretty high-end "hybrids" which are very much flat bar road bikes.

Iride01 

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!

70sSanO

IIRC, in the early 90’s when mtbs became popular, a large number of them were only used on pavement. There has been, and always will be, a large segment of the cycling world that will want flat bars.

Manufacturers basically put out a 700c version of a hardtail with a triple crank. The gearing fell in between road and mountain, although easily mtb gearing was not very low compared to later years.

I don’t see it as marketing hype, but supplying a bike to a lot of people who will never ride off-road, nor ride drop bars. I don’t have any numbers, but I would guess hybrids have outsold their counterparts over the years.

John

Rolla

Agreed, and my intention wasn't to bash the bike. They clearly fill a demand, even though the category has morphed into something that only tangentially corresponds to the name.

Rolla

Agreed on all counts. The shop where I occasionally work sells a ton of hybrids, mostly to moms and dads who want to ride with their kids or put a child seat on them, and also a fair number to those who want to give commuting a shot.

They're sort of the mini-van of bikes: unglamorous but useful.

Rolla

Yeah, the "comfort," "fitness," and "hybrid" categories seem to have a lot of overlap.

tomato coupe

I think this was discussed in an episode of Seinfeld.

Lombard

Note that Cannondale no longer even has a hybrid subcategory. They call them "fitness" bikes which is part of the larger "Active" category.

https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bik...&priceMax=2975

In fact, they only have 3 categories - Road, Mountain, Active and Kids. Active includes the subcategories of Fitness, Urban and E-bikes.

The latest Adventure looks like the rentals you would find near bike trails and in some cities.

indyfabz

What's the deal with hybrids? Their quality is low. Their price is low. Why don't they call them lowbrids?

BTW....They're hybrid, and theyre spectacular.

I don't know how you guys ride around on those things.

Reynolds 

IIRC, when hybrids first came out they were like MTBs with 700c wheels, less extreme low gears and non-knobby tires. No suspension fork, but MTBs didn't had them either back then.