After the Hybrid ...

[Geonz]

Pooks, if going more than 10 mph is still an "event," then there really is no need to switch to a road bike, which will tend to go faster
I"m just too cheap to go to a road bike when I can go as fast as I want to on my 7500FX - though when I got it, there were no Pilots or other models that were more upright.
I'm one of those people who've stuck with hybrids and gone gazillions of miles... but it's a *fast* hybrid, modified to be almost like a road bike, just more upright (which *does* impact speed ... at 15+ mph). While the hybrid-to-road may be "overrepresented" here, I know a lot of riders. The ones who ride "functionally" - errands and personal fitness, but mostly on their own - often stick to the bigger tires & upright. The ones in the club almost all go to road bikes within a year or two of being fully "bitten" - or to thinner tyres if they don't have the budget for a new bike.
DDH, Switching out tires can easily add 2 mph speed immediately... for me, that was from 35's to 28's, and 35's aren't even full "mountain bike" tires." So a hybrid prob'ly will be a "step up" from mt. bike... but if you've already switched out tires, maybe not.