I kind of tend to think of hybrids as being in the same class as cruisers...too upright of a sitting position for me, and without a lot of gear choices. I guess there are a lot more of them than there were when I was last really into bikes, though. Gosh things change fast in the bike world!

I'm poking around the makers' sites, but I'd really love any first person input - someone who has put some time on one of the newer hybrids and has some opinions on what models I should seek out.

Are the more road bike-like hybrids still OK on dirt paths? And are hybrids as a whole OK for decently long distances - up to thirty miles or about that?