Originally Posted by
Antiping
I cannot afford $1300 for a couple of basic bikes. ... So I started looking online for cheaper bikes without sacrificing quality. ... Would we be happier just spending the extra money for the LBS name-brand stuff? ... Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Another option is to mail-order the bikes. BikesDirect.com is known for having good-quality bikes at wholesale prices. They sell many brands that only they carry (Motobecane, Windsor, etc.), but their frames are made by Kinesis, which makes frames for other well-known bicycle brands, including Specialized and Kona.
The downside is that you've got to assemble them yourselves (actually a plus in my opinion, as it is a valuable learning experience and really isn't very difficult), and you won't be able to test-ride them. If you go to a bike ship, have them take your measurements to find out what size bike you need, so you can be sure to get the right basic size. You may then need to make adjustments to get a proper fit to the bicycle. Modifying your handlebar angle, stem length and angle, saddle height and angle, etc., can go a long way toward achieving this.
In my opinion, the money is best spent buying a ~$20 bicycle maintenance book (like one of [1,2,3]), and then mail-ordering a bike. They even have online assembly instructions and videos[4] and sell a cheap assembly DVD that can also be helpful.[5] This way, you'll be able to learn much more about your bicycle and won't feel uncomfortable if you have to make adjustments or want to upgrade something down the road. In the worst case scenario, if you really didn't feel comfortable assembling it, a bike shop would be able to do this for you for a small fee.
[1] Park Tools Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, 2nd Ed.
http://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-BBB-...1038702&sr=8-1
[2] The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair, 5th Ed.
http://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Comp...1038743&sr=1-1
[3] Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance
http://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-...1038743&sr=1-2
[4] BikesDirect: General Assembly Instructions
http://www.bikesdirect.com/instructionhelp.htm
[5] BikesDirect: Assembly Kit (including DVD)
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...sembly_kit.htm
I don't mean to ramble on about one company so much, but I ordered a road bicycle from them a little over a year ago and have been extremely pleased with the experience.