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Hybrid
From WikiPedalia
A hybrid is a cross-breed, the result of taking features from two different sources and creating something different, with aspects of both. The term has two common uses in bicycle usage:
- Hybrid bicycles, also known as "cross" or "fitness" bicycles, are a cross between a mountain bike and a touring bike. The best of them have the handlebars and control levers of a mountain bike, with the frame, gears, wheels and brakes of a touring bike. Hybrids usually come with 622 mm (700c) wheels like road/touring bikes, but with wider tires than are normally supplied for touring. Most hybrid bicycles, unfortunately, come with tires designed for looks rather than for function. These are typically knobbies 35-40 mm wide. These tires are not good for much. Knobby tires are good for dealing with soft sand and mud, but hybrid tires are too narrow for these conditions -- if you plan on riding through soft sand and mud, you really should buy a mountain bike. When ridden on firm surfaces, these tires are noisy and slow, and can cause an irritating buzz as they roll. They also corner poorly on pavement.
Many hybrids, unfortunately, also take from the mountain bike side of the family, a high bottom bracket. High bottom brackets make sense for mountain bikes, which are intended for jumping over logs and threading through narrow singletrack. Since hybrid bikes are generally unsuited for this sort or riding, the awkwardness of mounting and dismounting with a high bottom bracket outweigh any possible advantage. This is particularly the case since hybrids are often used for urban cycling, where stop-and-go is the norm. - Hybrid gearing is the use of both derailer and internal gearing on the same bicycle. Hybrid gearing has traditionally been a do-it-yourself option for bicycle tinkerers such as myself, usually by adding a derailer to a Sturmey-Archer hub. I have a 63-speed bicycle using this system. Hybrid gearing is no longer limited to the do-it-yourselfer, since the Sachs/SRAM 3 x 7, 3 x 8 and and 3 x 9 hubs have become generally available. These are 3-speed planetary-geared hubs designed to accept a Shimano-type cassette.
Hybrid gearing provides close spacing with a wider range of gears than can normally be obtained with a single-derailer system. It is also particularly well suited to bicycles with smaller than usual drive wheels, because the increase top ratio of the internal gear hub eliminates the need for unusually large chainwheels to compensate for the small wheels.
