Hello all,

Noobie here, just starting to look into bike commuting to work. By car, the drive is about 8 miles, but I suspect the bike ride would be slightly less as half of the route would be down a canal that cuts diagonal to the major roads.

I've been reading through the forum trying to get a feel for what will suit my needs. My budget is going to be in the $300-$400 dollar range, so I think I will primarily be looking at used. I plan to head to a couple of bike shops over the next week to take a look at some bikes and talk with som eof the people who work there. I've been looking on craigslist as well. I have been thinking of getting a mountain bike and putting differnt tires on it. The canal path is dirt, but pretty hard dirt, and then the other half would be down paved roads.

I'm still not sure all the in's and outs of bikes, or what to be on the look out for and what to avoid, thats where I figure you guys here and some of the local bike shops could offer some good insight

thanks,
matt