Comparison of flat bar road bikes, cyclocross and hybrids for city and occasional dirt roads I am looking for a new bike with following properties:


comfortable for commute, promenades and fitness in the city and outside with occasional bad roads (dirt roads with some tree roots, bumps) and rough cobblestone
more or less light (I expect to go upstairs with it in hands often)
upright posture preferred if possible


The thing is, I don't want to buy a compromise that tries and fails to be everything -- hybrids are seen this way in some articles I've read.

So I am looking at the three categories I mentioned in the title. Can you give a comparison of the three? What can you advise? Are my criteria too broad?
That is pretty much what a CX is designed for.  They carry nicely as most CX courses have a carry section.  If you are going to be road heavy you can get touring tires like 28 - 35 mm.  For cobble stone go 35 mm.

Check for take 35 mm as some pure race will only to up to 32 mm.

I prefer the drop bars as more positions and can go into the drops for aerodynamics but most riding is on the hoods.

You can often get good prices used as lot of racers upgrade every couple years.  And the bike is typically well maintained.  With 1x coming popular many people are upgrading and 2x is probably better for you. Sponsored riders get a bike free.  Your risk of crashed bike is not that high as hard crashes in CX are just not common.  Crashes are not common.