Originally Posted by Terry66

Cx bikes are really nice, but also consider a few of the more relaxed semi-touring frames on the market like the Pake C'mute and the Soma Saga. Not sure if you can buy completes, but building a bike is a great learning experience and a blast. Personally if I were you, I would go....

1. Salsa Vaya (A bit over your budget as a complete, but I built mine for under $1K)
2. Soma Saga
3. Surly CC
4. Pake C'Mute (the Pake frames are fairly inexpensive! They run long in size)
5. Kona - Jake

Originally Posted by knightrk

Success! I got a used 09 cross check for 800 bucks off of craigslist. I have the day off and I am going to clean it up and take it for a long ride.