Richard D

I've had a low-end Giant for about four months/1000 miles and have generally been pretty happy with it. The basic bike cost about £235 UK so I guess it's equivalant to $300 - $350 US Dollars. It was the best I could afford at the time, particularly as I wasn't sure I'd like cycling.

For that I got a fairly good aluminium frame with basic components (mixture of suntour, shimano and SRAM), the only really grotty bit was the shimano front derailleur, but upgrading it wasn't dear. The SRAM ESP rear derailleur and basic Gripshifts 3/4 work very well. The Suntour fork is adequate (accurate tracking, reasonable bump absorbtion except when below freezing) and no worse than most forks fitted to bikes below £400. The Suntour chainset isn't wonderful but works without too much flex, and will probably be upgrade soon. Wheels are a little heavy but have never needed trueing, I'll replace them at some point. The v-brakes are pretty good.

I'm aware that eventually I'll have replaced just about everything apart from the frame, and spent a little more than buying a bike with that grade of components, but I'll have the advantage of having the exact blend of components I want for my riding, had the fun of several indulgences rather than just the one, and most importantly had something to ride and enjoy rather than sitting on a train while I saved up for the extra months.

If you can't afford a dear bike then it's better to be riding an okay cheap one than not riding at all.

I looked at the most basic steel framed Giant in the UK, when I bought mine, and it's pretty much the same geometry (very comfortable for me, but arguably a little short and upright for some). It's a mixture of plain hi-ten steel and chromolly, a bit on the heavy side but not as bad as some of the cheap bikes you see. I can't remember what the exact components were, but I think they were adequate.

I'd try and stretch your budget a little higher if you can to get a better frame, but if you can't you'll probably find it okay for a while if you can persuade the bike shop to swap the tyres.

Richard