hey ranger,

looks like u've been looking at road bikes.. $280 for a road bike looks fine, i'm sure it'll work properly and do what it should. notice, however, it's not really a full sora-equipped bike. it has sora shifters and sora brake levers; essentially, a pair of sora brifters. does it have: sora bottom bracket, rear derailleur, front derailleur, crankset, brakes, cassette? the answer might be no. wheelset might not be that good either, but i'm sure it does the trick. this could account for the cheaper price.

anyway, for $280, you CAN get a decent used bike, if u know what u're looking for in bikes and can do a bit of mechanical stuff on your own. (i prefer this route since i know how to fix'm and, when i have the time, like to do it); otherwise stick with the new...

sd

edit: ah, noticed it has sora "derailleur"; but is this front or rear or both? (and what about the list of items i mentioned?) anyway these kinds of details are missing...