I've been keeping an eye out for a better bike than the $15 garage sale no namebrand clunker I have now. I commute about 5 miles to the bus on a pretty flat an beautiful trail accross the bay here in Anacortes. I'm pretty much broke when it comes to $, but I saw this Trek800 Antelope bike at the thrift shop for $85 and they said they would go down to $75. I tried it and it seems to fit me very nicely. It's lighter than the bike I use now (the front wheel on mine needs to be replaced it's in very bad shape). I'm wondering whether I should hold out for something better or just get this thing.
I'm not sure I want a roadbike as I tend to jump curbs sometimes.
On my current bike (I think it has about the same gearing as the trek) I noticed that on days when I have a wind from behind or when I go downhill, I wish I had a higher gear as I don't feel I'm going fast enough. I guess that's one reason to go with a roadbike, otherwise I tend to be pretty rough on my bike as I don't have time to slow down and avoid stuff so I just plow ahead. The trail where I ride, is littered with seashells (the seagulls use the trail as a hard surface to drop clams and break them), so I'm not sure that skinny tires would be ok as I just don't have the patience to avoid the stuff... I've got enough things to worry about I need something solid enough to take this kind of abuse.