Howdy! And Welcome to TE! My take on it is to consider where you want to be with your cycling - what goals do you have in mind? That will go a long way in determining what your bike will be. Also, what kind of riding do you want to do? Road? Trails? Off Trails? Etc. For me, my older Giant Innova hybrid is just the ticket. I have carpal tunnel and benign positional vertigo so upright is what I need to ride. Also, the trails I ride on have tree root cracks in the pavement and some tree debris - pine needles, pine cones, etc. which are not fun hitting with a skinny tire. So my hybrid has a wider tire and handles the terrain just fine. It is nice to know I can leave the pavement when I need to. Apparently, speed is an issue with some folks on hybrids as they want to ride faster. I wish I could sometimes, but usually I get between 13 and 14 mph which I can do comfortably on my hybrid with faster sprints of up to 20 mph on the flat. I also do some commuting/hauling groceries, etc. with my bike. She has panniers and a rear rack. So decide what you want to do with your bike, and happy hunting for your next ride! Lots of great advice on this forum in bike selection. Just wanted to give my 2 cents worth regarding hybrids.