Originally Posted by Keio

Hello! As you can see from the topic name, I'm a complete noob at this stuff. I've checked multiple places for what specifics are good, and I've read the stickies. However, I'm still at a loss on what to get.

I've looked on around 10 sites and have found that best sellers on ebay have the 'best bang for the buck'. I've never been to a bike shop to see prices, and it really isn't an option, as I live in the deep south of USA.

Here are the specifics:
My budget is 550$. Most of the bikes in the links are around that or cheaper.
Only going for a road bike. Frame doesn't matter as long as it isn't the bulky steel weighing me down.
I'm not entirely sure how the curved handlebars work, with the whole leaning over to reduce wind resistance.

I was thinking http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...Category=98084 , as it claims it has a listing of 1100-1200$. Looks good as well. But the other bikes the store owner has up for sale are cheaper and look alright. Thoughts, opinions, help all appreciated. I can give more info if more is needed, as I'm at a loss for how this all works with specifics aside from frames.

Links to two stores that had 99.9% positive:
http://stores.ebay.com/roadbikeoutlet
http://stores.ebay.com/sprtymamabikeshop

Many thanks for reading!