Hey all,

I've been hoping to get into road cycling as a hobby and means of commuting to my school. I'm a broke graduate student and I don't plan on spending much more than $300 or so on my first road bike. The thread about bikes less than $700 was very informative but unfortunately most people were talking about $500-$700 bikes there and I just can't afford that. I've found a few bikes that looked interesting to me so I thought I could post them here and get some input.

A little bit about me. As I stated, my primary use for the bike will be commuting. It's only about 6mi daily round trip from my house to my school, but I might be moving soon so I'd like a bike that could handle a 15-20mi daily commute without issue. I don't plan on seriously upgrading my bike, but it would be nice if the bike were fairly easy to customize should I choose to. There aren't a lot of hills in my city so I don't particularly need a wide range of gears, but I'm not a big fan of fixies. For what it's worth, I'm about 6'1" and 180 lbs.

Here are some of the bikes I'm considering:

Nashbar Steel Road Bike: https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...11_-1___202339
Motobecane Mirage: https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...e_xi_steel.htm
Vilano Tuono: https://www.roadbikeoutlet.com/vilano...road-bike.html
Mercier Galaxy: https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._al_xi_sc1.htm

Any advice you guys could give me would be amazing. I admit to being pretty ignorant about road cycling in general and, while I can recognize the good, expensive brands, I know very little about second tier brands such as this. Thanks in advance for any help you could give me.

Go used;

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/bik/3203308337.html

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/bik/3149220272.html

I like the idea of used bikes, too, but it IS possible to get burned, particularly for a novice. I bought a Rivendell Rambouillet a couple of years ago for $1000; list at the time was ~$2500. And I've bought probably five or six thrift shop bikes over the years, usually for less than $100, that have served me well. But I'm a longtime cyclist and decent mechanic, so I know what to look for.
I'm sure if you google something like "buying used bike" you'll find tips. It's not really very complicated, but it's worth learning about it first.

I get suspicious whenever I see the people list bike frame sizes in inches.

I think a new Nashbar Steel road bike would be better than either of these bikes.

Yeah, go used. I did it all the time...

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=#post14462817

The most important part of a bike is the frame. Make sure what ever you buy fits you. The frames you listed are great values as they are but they don't worth upgrading. Use them till they die.

If you are set on going new, any of the Nashbar/Bikes Direct bikes in your price range should be suitable, if not of the highest quality. The thing to consider is securing the bike, and what you are willing to lose. If it is going to be left unattended, I suggest going with a vintage steel frame road bike and a rattle can to make it look less appealing. If it will be secure then go newer...

Thanks for your help everyone. I ended up buying the Motobecane Mirage posted by 10 Wheels (https://stlouis.craigslist.org/bik/3149220272.html). I had test ridden a Raleigh yesterday that was going for $100 more, and didn't notice any major differences with the Motobecane aside from being a tad heavier. I decided to go with the cheaper option. This bike should do me fine on my commute and be easy enough to resell if I decide to upgrade.

For what you describe, you really couldn't do much better than that bike. Enjoy!

Congrats on your bike, hope you have many miles of fun with it.