sorry, just wandering back to this thread, but it looks like you got a good answer.

but yeah, if the co-op's close enough to you to check out I'd try it. it's a new-ish thing for me (been going about once a week for the last couple months), but I like it. again, not knowing if they all work the same, but you may find a bike there. or if you say you've got a little mechanical knowledge yourself, they can kind of flesh it out some. that would let you look at used bikes with a little more knowledge of what to look for and weather or not it needs some kind of work, and if the works possible and/or worth doing. even if you end up buying new, you can be better at maintaining it.

err... sorry if that went off on a tangent a little, and turned into a "yeah, co-op's!" post.