I am looking into purchasing a hybrid bike or road bike here soon. I know the best bikes to buy (Cannondale, Trek, etc.) but they are too expensive for me. Can anyone point me in the right direction on the best quality bike I can buy (hybrid and/or road) for around $300?

Thank you!

I think that your best bet at that price point might be to find the best used bike you can find, likely a brand like Trek or Cannondale would fit into that category, for a couple hundred bucks and then spend the 'change' on a tune-up, new tires, etc. to get it back up to speed?

You can get a Trek 700 or a Fuji Crosstown 4.0 for under $350, list. Some of the other popular brands may have models in that price range. The Fuji Newest 4.0 is one of the cheapest road bikes (again a few other brands have similar models) at $550 so it will be hard to get a road bike, new, for your budget. However, starting now and through the spring if they last that long manufacturers and dealers will be selling off their 2010 models to make room for the 2011 models so you might find a few road bikes and nicer hybrid models in your price range if you look hard now and in the next few months. If you are hoping to get a nicer bike than the 2010 models you find on sale for $300 then the used market is your best bet, as has been suggested.

Ken

This is s nice bike for the price, after buying, take it to a local friendly LBS and ask for a complete tune up and fitting. And help for the extras you would like for the bike, lights, helmet, fenders etc... with all the money you saved. Good Luck, Richardhttps://www.walmart.com/ip/26-Women-s...-Bike/13398152

A more performance model would be this one, it does come in womens style, just could not find it on there
web site, but have seen it in the store...https://www.walmart.com/search/search...venue%20hybrid Richard

I ride one very close to the Avenue model, and this follow up review is after 2000 miles of road and
some pretty rough trail riding, went 8 miles last night averaged 14 miles per hour. Richard

Did you ever get video of your Schwinn going off the 6-foot drop in the boondocks Richard? Hee hee! That seems like a pretty nice ride too. One thing I noticed w/ the bike I got recently (Trek Valencia...a bit pricier) is that the much svelter seat on it is *extremely* comfortable? I dunno if it was engineered specifically for my butt or what but I really like the slimmer seat. I probably just got lucky w/ that but I am not a big fan of the cushier seats, even for less gonzo riding? Over a 6' drop, I can see having something softer there though?

The last sort of non bike-store bike I'd had was a 1976 (w/ bicentennial paint job...) Sears Free Spirit road bike of my dad's I'd taken down to college. I taco-ed the front tire on a bump in the street (w/ books for summer school weighing down each handlebar, ouch!) and had hybridy handlebars put on by the LBS for a proto-hybrid (this was like 1987?) that made it a fantastic bike to cruise around on! I had tons of fun on that sucker! Rode all over town, took my bass to band practice on it, etc.

I have two hybrids. One for off road, rails to trails riding. It's a Specialized Crosstrail. But the one that I want to tell you about is my other hybrid for road riding. It's a Diamondback Insight 2. Diamondback is a decent bike. They offer good frames and components for less money than other companies. They do this by only offering each model in one color selction.
Since you're new to biking, you may not want to do what I did. I bought a 2010 end of year clearance from Bikenashbar.com. The price was great, but you'll need to assemble it yourself. But what you can do, is go to your local Dick's Sporting Goods store. They have the Insight 1 for closer to the price you're looking to pay. If you can find someone who can assemble a bike for you, then what you can do is try one at Dick's, and then go buy one on Bikenashbar.com. You can check out the bikes at Diamondback.com. Nashbar has the Insight 1 for $299.99

I was only going for the 4 1/2 foot, : ) but do not have a back up bike. So the thought of the spoke, and bent rim
changed my mine.. LOL..I did have a nerve racking ride tonight, 3 guys in a Mini van pulled up close to me, called me
names, and tried to push me off the road. I called 911 on them, they said they would send an officer to make a report
if I wanted. ( An hour later ), LOL ...I said thanks, but no need...Richard

A road bike and a hybrid bike are not the same thing. The former, these days, tends to be very specialized for speed: narrow tires only, no room for fenders, and geometry to fit. I'm not sure about a hybrid, since I've never owned one. They'll probably be more comfortable and possibly more versatile, but I'm not sure about that. An older road bike will also be more versatile, but you need to know what you're looking for, and how much work it would take to make you happy with it.