For the money, I would find a good bike on CL. I was looking at department store bikes. Then heard some horror stories. Decided to look on CL. Luckily for me I live in a big metropolitan area (DFW). Found an older model Trek For less than I would have spent at Wally World, that had barely been used. This is an extremely interesting thread. I personally would never spend more than $300 on a bicycle. Simply because its only for utilitarian use and for more, I could have a moped/scooter.