I tried in the 1970's-1980's then again in 3 years ago. It wasn't fun back in the 1970's and certainly wasn't fun 3 years ago. So don't give the haven't tried it line. Give me mtb, xbike or even the new gravel grinders at least give something that I can sprint on and shift gears. These over weight bikes you call klunkers are no fun to sprint on nor are the ones spelt with a "C".
Sorry for the misunderstanding about "C" and "K" in the English language. Looks like it about the same as when I use the words Culture and Kulture?
I'll just leave and shut up.
I'm sorry if I've offended you, alistair. I was just trying to shed some info on the discussion. FWIW, a "hybrid" is a klunker with gears, like this: http://clunkers.net/alan_green.html
For those who'd like to shift....
Overweight? Sure. Outdated tech? Absolutely. No fun? I guess fun is what you make of it. If I'm on the trail and I'm not in a hurry, I have a whole lot of fun on a klunk... If you click on the videos, I'm sure you'll see guys having fun, rockin' dirt jumps on Worksman INBs, and even sprinting a little. And, yeah, I sprint on a klunker---- it's just a relatively slow kind of sprintin'.
I don't think anyone wants you to "shut up and leave"; I just got the impression that some of the folks on this thread weren't familiar with the aesthetic and function that the OP was attempting to achieve with this bike. Again, sorry if I offended you, but I just love to talk bikes and especially klunkers.... check out my sig line... I can type about'm all day. "Klunker" just happens to be a specialized bike term, as evidenced perhaps, by this:
https://www.google.com/search?site=...msedr...0...1ac.1.60.img..0.7.343.iv2I3KQWA9o
Take care.... and relax. No one is trying to pick a fight with you....