I'm new here and am skipping the formal introduction so please excuse me for that. Let this be my introduction. I'm also posting this in the commuting forum not bc I'll be commuting but the riding I do is most like commuting.

How/where I ride- I ride in a small town in Georgia for exercise and recreation. My typical ride is 98% paved roads that are not in great condition. They have many imperfections, humps, bumps, holes, etc. I have one stretch of just a couple hundreds yards I ride that is dirt. Yes a dirt road in the city limits. It's ridiculous. Wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't sandy. Also several curves have a thin layer of dirt washed over them. Several speed bumps. The long speed bumps are not bad at all. The short, steep speed bumps are literally a pain in the butt. I usually ride 3-4 times a week for 45 min to an hour and up to 10-12 miles. Wouldn't mind stretching that time and distance in the future.

My current, barely functioning, bike is a mongoose paver. I know, laugh it up, it came from the Mart. It has carried me for a few thousand miles tho. In its current shape it is unsafe and barely fit to ride. I need something different. It's not worth putting any money into. The kicker is I'm trying to keep the purchase price around 200 bucks.

I'm looking for a hybrid or flat bar road bike or mtb with street tires or what ever else could be relatively efficient on pavement. I've been watching Craigslist for a couple months. Nothing I've seen has been in my price range. Also hit up 5 bike shops in a nearby major college town that had almost no used bikes. I almost bought a used mtb that was too small out of pure frustration. I mean I just want a friggin bike that is somewhat road oriented that is fit for someone 6' for around $200. Is that unreasonable? Am I being unreasonable in my expectations? I don't want a beauty queen just a functional bike.

On a side note I tried to go the "Mart" route and bought a cheap Schwinn last night. Rode it this morning and it was unacceptable. The rim seam wasn't smooth causing the brakes to catch every revolition when the brakes were applied. And some noise was coming from the bottom bracket that was not normal. It has been returned already.

Sorry for the long winded first post but any tips on how to get a decent bike to ride on road for around 200? O yeah I'm 6' 185 lbs.

Thanks,
Matt