Hi Rudyb,

Wow, that's a hard question!

There are many, many types of bikes, from racy bikes at $5K and up, to used commuters for free at freecycle places, and everything in between. But unless you're looking pretty high end, you can probably find something that will work for a few hundred dollars or less for a basic bike.

What sort of riding are you looking forward to doing?

Where will you be biking? (Pave trails, streets, gravel roads, mountain-bike trails)

Bikes, like cars, are designed for pretty specific purposes and conditions, though, like cars, you can often use a bike for more than it's basic purposes. So if you're commuting on roads, you probably want a bike that's fairly comfortable, has fenders, side bags, and so forth. That same commuter will work great for going on picnics, getting some exercise, and so forth. But it won't work so well for a rough trail.

So what are your bike dreams?