If you like the trails, but really enjoy riding the streets of your neighborhood, then take a look at the offerings from this category. There are models that offer the bare basics, and then we have the super lite flat bar hybrid.
Hybrid Bicycles or "cross" bike as they are sometimes called originated at a time when most people buying a bike were buying a mountain bike, but often a mountain bike was simply too heavy and slow for the average rider. Bike companies took the best elements from mountain bikes, tourers and racing bikes and built a bike which met the requirements of the average rider, and they called it a "Hybrid Bicycles". You can choose from a step-through frame or a traditional diamond frame and available in multi frame sizes.
Hybrid bicycle combine the features of mountain and road bikes. Road bike is fast and a mountain bike is durable, but the hybrid is perfect for a wide variety of uses: bike paths, getting your groceries, fun rides and commuting.
Most importantly, you can ride a hybrid over most surfaces, but not severe off-road conditions. The rider gets the best of both worlds . . . perfect blend of speed and comfort.
Pros. . .
Lightweight, offering a wide range of gears. Because of their versatility, hybrids are especially suited to recreational riders and commuters. Equally good at long journeys as short. Doesn't have the "drag" on tarmac that you get with a mountain bike.
Cons. . .
Not suited to severe off-road conditions or mountain tracks etc. Stick to well worn tracks and paths.
The hybrid is one of the best all round bikes there is - it suits the majority of riding.
Special Comfort
Giant Cypress - Street Tires, Easy rolling 700C tires and special comfort equipment for fitness, bike path and neighborhood riding. Cypress is more than just a comfort bike, this "flat handlebar road bike" has top performance in mind with narrow road racing tires, lightweight components including a carbon composite fork and seat post and an Ultegra rear derailleur.
A hybrid is fitted with 700c wheels (the same diameter as fitted to racing bikes) but with wider tires and rims (on average 35mm). These tires are generally multi condition. They have a smooth center line for efficiency on tarmac, but have a knobbly outer tread, to give good traction if the bike is ridden on a non-tarmac surface.
Hybrid bikes are usually fitted with the same gear systems as mountain bikes, with between 18 and 27 gears, and similar braking systems. Some of the higher end Hybrids are equiped with road bike gearing, making them a very popular choice for the tourist, and casual club rider.
- A hybrid will have three front chain rings like a mountain bike instead of the two that is more typical of a road bike.
- A hybrid will have handle bars that are straight or sweep up, like a mountain bike instead of drop down bars like a road bike.
- Hybrids combine the narrow tires and high-ratio gearing of road bikes with the comfort and style of a mountain bike.
- A road bike usually has a steeper sweep angle on the front forks which gives it a longer wheel base than a hybrid.
- It is common to find shocks of some kind on mountain bikes, and on many of todays hybrids as well.
- The weight of a hybrid is also usually somewhere in between the lighter road bike and heavier mountain bike.
