You might be surprised at how often decent bikes show up at reasonable prices and sometimes free. About two weeks ago I picked up a Trek Singletrack 930 bicycle (MTB) at the curb. My neighbor put it out for the trash along with two helmets and 2 spare tires. It sat there for a couple of days before I stopped to look at it. I guess he just got tired of it. His next door neighbor saw him put it out on garbage day so I knew it wasn't just left by the owner's son who used to ride it occasionally. It will need new tires and brake pads but that is it. I always lubricate bearings and adjust brakes and shifters. I dated it to 1993 with the date codes on the Shimano cranks. It will make a decent bike for one of the bigger kids in my Scout Troop for cycling merit badge next year.

If this bike were at a garage sale in the same condition and someone asked $150 for it I would look and then go away but if the price had been around $50 I would have bought it. It's way better than anything you could buy at a mass merchandiser. It weighs under 30 pounds even with the Ringle suspension stem that was added later. It helps if you can just look at a bike and judge the quality from the components and bike weight. Good bikes have better grade components and always weigh less. I saw one at a garage sale today. It had full suspension and crappy components. It might make a good substitute for a weight set but I'd never ride it or buy it for the kids.