Originally Posted by Leisesturm

Confiscated, abadndonced and/or stolen Commuter bikes turn up in Police auctions by the ton (and given what bikes weigh that's a lot of bikes) and bike stores and bike co-ops bid for them and re-sell them to the general public. That's where you should look for a bike. You can get a bike, new, from an LBS for $350, but $500 would be better. You can get a bike for $350 online but since you don't have wrenchin' skillz you will have to pay someone to get it set up for you and you will be near $500 anyway.

Because of its simplicity, people often think they can just buy a bike and head out into traffic. Not advisable. You wouldn't do the same thing with a car. Driving a car is pretty simple as well. The first time I ever sat in a drivers seat and pressed a gas pedal in anger I was about as in control of the beast as 40 years later. You take driving lessons to learn how to conduct yourself and your vehicle on the road and to learn how to play nice with the other road users and pedestrians.

Much of it is common sense and none of it is rocket science, but a mistake, in the early weeks in a car, is not usually fatal. On a bike you have neither an instructor with duplicate control equipment, nor a unit body protective shell. Be careful. Read a motorcycle safety publication, a lot of the advice transfers well to bicycles. There weren't any bike riding manuals that were street oriented when I started out, but there may well be some by now. Find them. Grok them.