Hello!

I want to start biking to work and just bike around in General while also lowering my cars Gas bill.

I don't have a lot of money to spend on it so I tried out Craigslist for a used option and everything turns out to be rusted metal for 200+ bucks, my Local Bike Stores selection yielded poor results as well.

So maybe the Bike Pros at BikeForums can help me out, I am a newbie so treat me like someone who knows nothing about bikes.

List of stuff I would like for my bike:
- Cheap: I am looking to spend Ideally 300ish, 500+ is too much for my budget.
- Good Quality: I know Cheapness doesn't always combine well w/ quality but maybe something is out there, I need it to last.
- Simple: Are all those gears needed? I don't need something flashy, just gets the job done.

I am a big guy at 6'2 as well.

You are posting in a road bike forum, so I assume that you are looking for a road bike. Your craigslist experience did not work out, so that leaves out used... You cannot buy a new road bike for your budget. You could actually accomplish your goals of commuting and riding around by buying a $100 Target Schwinn mountain bike. Why don't you just do that? That is what I started out on. If you did happen to find a used road bike that wasn't junk on craigslist, do you know what size frame even fits you?

Keep at it with CL. It requires patience, but you should be able to find a good bike for $250 or less.

Welcome To Bike Forums, MagicZak!

Do you anticipate climbing any hills in your area?

As soon as you 'settle' for the wrong bike, something much more right will appear on CL. Patience is a virtue. Bikes that need a little work may not sell as quickly, but are sometimes better value.

I hadn't thought about Target/Wal-Mart for a bike, Thank You.

Any opinions on this?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/GMC-Denali...Large/12080282

Maybe X-Large is better
https://www.walmart.com/ip/GMC-Denali...ndingMethod=rr

Going to my Local Bike Shop and paying for a membership to help me build it would be smart right?

A couple, nothing too steep though, small hills.

Inseam is 34

Hey there MagicZak!

You can still get a brand new road bike. Since you don't have major hills to climb, all you really need is a single speed road bike!

I would strongly recommend the following:

The Nashbar Hounder Single Speed ~ $200 --- (Flatbar)
www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_504148_-1_202614

The Motobecane Track Single Speed Bike ~ $280
www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/track.htm

The Dawes Revolver Single Speed ~ $200
www.amazon.com/Dawes-Revolver-Single-Speed-Track/dp/B007R6RRRE

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...y/avenue_a.htm

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...y/avenue_b.htm

https://bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/timeline.htm

Some assembly required, but in your budget and would be tons better than the Denali....

Pass on the GMC, it's not worth upgrading. Upgrading a bike gets expensive quickly.
I'd save up enough to double that $300 dollar budget to the $600-$650 range, your options will be a lot better @ this price point.
If you need to pay a shop to assemble the bike for you, be prepares to spend a few $100.

Good Luck finding the bike you need/want.

Thanks for the suggestions:

What would be the best quality bike on this page in the 300 dollar range?
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/road_bikes.htm

They all look the same to my un-trained eyes.

As was stated before MagicZak, a quality multi-geared genunine road bike that's not used, will be pretty much impossible to find, at your current price point. Your best bet will be to find a quality single speed. My earlier single speed recommendations along with RearViewBeer's Timeline suggestion are thus far, your best options.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're not willing to monitor your local Craigslist for a used chromoly steel road bike, then your next best thing will be either a brand new single speed or an entry level, Sora equipped, multi-geared, road bike purchased online.

Perhaps a multi-geared road bike like this one:

The Windsor Wellington 2.0 ~ $350
www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/wellington2_IX.htm

Slim is right on with the $50 extra for the Windsor. Really depends on what you like and what kind of riding you really see yourself doing.

https://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_S...ls&ProdID=2428