Jamis bikes are generally a good buy, with more bang-for-the-buck than the more heavily promoted brands like Trek and Specialized. The low-end frames of all three companies are made in the Far East. One of our best-respected local shops in Philadelphia sells a lot of Jamis, and I have several friends who own them (all MTB's) and are very happy. (Fuji and Raleigh are two more brands that do well in this category.)

Quality and features tend to be pretty competitive in the $300-500 range, and differences between bike brands are often less important than the differences between the shops that sell them.

RichC