Sorry, yes, MTB == Mountain Bikes

As far as bike shops, where in NJ are you, yellow pages are always a good start as well as Google, but if you have a geographic area, ask here on this forum, cause certainly there are better shops and bad shops... Heck, they might even offer to teach you how to ride, cause one more rider means one more customer!

As far as price, best bet would be to shop in the fall for closeouts but say brand new, anywhere from $400-$500 will get you a decent entry level mountain bike or MTB A road bike will be more due to supply/demand.

I would certainly shop at a dedicated bike shop, especially being new, a real bike shop will have the knowledge, the interest, and the time to help you out. I only recommend any of the box shop stores to those that know what they're doing and those that know what they're doing shouldn't be going to big box shops because they don't carry the parts that they will need...

Jay