Hybrid Bicycles - Is it worth??

I've heard of Hybrid bikes as a combination of both MTB as well as a Road bike....is it actually like that?....I've seen one of these "Bianchi San Jose (Steel)"...Is it worth or should I go for a Cannondale?? Please suggest...Thank you!

Yes, that is a reasonably accurate working definition of hybrid bike.

Bianchi San Jose is a fixed gear bike, and would not be considered a hybrid bike by most people.

If I were looking for a fixed gear bike, I think I'd favor the Bianchi over a Cannondale. Both companies make very fine bicycles as well as less expensive models.

San Jose would almost certainly be a bad choice, with being a fixed gear (google this). Why don't you tell people what you want the bike for and what your budget is, then they can help you?

San Jose would almost certainly be a bad choice, with being a fixed gear (google this).

Not so sure about that. Here is how Bianchi describes the 2010 San Jose:

"Single-speed goodness with brakes and without the hassle or fear of a fixed gear—that’s the San Jose, available in drop-bar and flat-bar models."

I could not find an earlier model year San Jose to see if this is a recent change. I did not try very hard, their web site is not very friendly to people searching for information like this. It is odd that they include the San Jose in their "Urban Fixed Gear" category when it is a single speed, not a fixed gear. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, I suppose.... Anyway, to the OP I would say, did you want a single speed bike? If not, the San Jose is not for you. It is a hybrid though, between a road and a track bike.

A hybrid is a bike that combines elements of two or more other categories, not just road and mountain bikes. Most hybrid models you can buy from manufacturers do tend to lie somewhere near the line between a road bike and a mountain bike. Some are quite nearly road bikes, others are quite nearly 29er's in fact. But most have tires that are more like, if not actually, touring tires and many of us put trekking bars, racks, and panniers on them so in practice many have touring bike genes in their makeup too. Many have fenders and tires that are wide enough to show some cruiser heritage as well. You don't have to tell us anything about what you want if you don't care to but you do need to understand for yourself what you want. Given the wide variety of what is out there the more you tell us about what you really want the better the suggestions you get will be. Otherwise people are just going to try to convince you to buy the bike that suits them best, because that is the bike they are enthusiastic about.

Ken

@meanwhile (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?126145-meanwhile)

My budget is around 60 thousand(INR). I was goin for a Hybrid beacuse I can use it both ways.When I'm on road as well as some rocky surface!!!

@qmsdc15 (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?10104-qmsdc15)

Yes you are absolutely right that both the companies make good ones and are reasonable too...