Well, just went out and picked up my first "Real" bike. a Giant Option. Very nice. It's a 23.5" hybrid. Burgundy, only problem is the front tube is flat, and the rear rim is bent. The bike all around seems very nice, the shifters are what I assume people here are always refering to as rapid fire. It has two levers for each shifter, one up one down. All around, not a bad deal at all for $95. Gotta love CL

Do you need a new wheel? Or, is it fixable?

Giant factory wheels are crap anyway. Go to Wheelsmiths and drop $100 on a new wheel, one with a freehub instead of the stock (probably) freewheel, it'll last forever. The front rim will be OK as is. My stock rear on my Giant Cypress broke about a dozen spokes in the first 1400 miles, before I built a new one. I just bought new spokes and a new rim and laced it myself using Sheldon Brown's how-to page, and it lasted OK but about 10,000 miles later the axle broke and I wound up buying a new wheel anyway. If you're replacing the whole thing including the hub, I found that there wasn't much price difference between buying the parts and just buying a built wheel.

Pics or it didnt happen !

A giant what?

You must be strong!

Totally agree with you there. The wheel just seems like a low quality build. Every spoke is loose, meaning I can wiggle them and there is a lot of play. I have a friend who is willing to sell me two shimano WH-R540 wheels for only $100. Seem like very nice wheels, but with only 16 spokes, makes me wonder about the durability. If only I had the money to drop right now. It's just gonna have to sit for a few weeks. Talk about sad. Lol. I still say for $95 it was a steal. And there is a LBS that I pass literally every day on my way to work which if I didn't know any better deals almost exclusively in Giant bikes.

You stole my joke...

Silly me. This is the CL pic, since I'm too lazy to get up and take some pics at the moment. More pics to come later.

Better late then never.
had to spend an additional $130. $49.99 for a new rear wheel, and about $70 for a tuneup, but worth it. Got it ridin in style. now.

Got it all loaded up, ready for work. No more backpack for me.