Dividing the Spectrum - What's a Sportif?

I'll be posting more about the "orange bike," but I want to first digress and talk about the spectrum of bicycles.

Today there are endless categories of bicycles: road bikes, mountain bikes, comfort bikes, touring bikes, fitness bikes, hybrid bikes, etc. A Road Bike typically has 622 mm (diameter) wheels (called 700C) with roughly 1 inch (23-25mm) width tires and drop handlebars, and mountain bikes typically have some sort of suspension, smaller 559 mm (diameter) wheels (called 26 inch) with roughly 2 inch (50mm) width tires and "flat" handlebars.

Builder Curt Goodrich has a new website, it's interesting to see his categories, particularly the "sportif": http://www.curtgoodrich.com/bikes/sportif/

The "orange bike" has several inspirations, including the Bridgestone XO series, and particularly the Tournesol Sportif built for Douglas Brooks.