The best place to buy a good, inexpensive road bike is still a thrift store, such as Goodwill, St Vincent DePaul etc., but you have to be patient to find the gems since the ratio is about 30 (huffy, magna, AMF) to 1 (Raleigh, Gitane or Miyata). In my area, the good ones go fast & it helps to be there when the doors open at 9AM as the other early birds are looking for bargains in tools, electronics & small kitchen appliances. I used to check once weekly when I was looking for a bike or parts. It helps to know what you are looking for so educate yourself a bit. A quick way to spot a good frame is to look for axle adjuster screws on the back of the rear dropouts. Haven't ever seen these on a bike that wasn't worth buying, but you won't find many. Even if there are only cheap, beater 10 speed road bikes in the display, take time to check out the pedals, saddle & wheelsets. I have found Campagnolo pedals & wheelsets, Soubitez generator sets, leather saddles & some nice toe clip sets on otherwise unremarkable bikes. No rhyme or reason to what somebody might add on. Prices here have escalated a bit though. Time was that a chrom-moly frame road bike with mid to high end shimano or SunTour components but with flat tires, & covered with basement dust would be priced at $9.95 but now it will usually be $20 to $50. Good thing is they still price shiny dept store bikes in the same range & I have seen people pass up a nice Miyata for a Huffy or AMF Road Master because the Presta valves & flat tires scared them off. Don