I'm fairly new to this process but not new enough that I can't share some of the lessons that I learned the hard way through this whole thing. When I first started on this journey I wasn't really sure what kind of riding I'd be doing. I liked the idea of having something I could take off-road if I wanted to and I was rather intimidated by slicks on a road bike. I decided then that I wanted a hybrid. I also wanted to save money so I went to a place that sold me an XS bike (I'm 5'6") because I didn't know any better. I spent $550 on that bike but once I figured out it was too small was able to sell it to a fellow TE member here in the area for $300-something. I even threw in an expensive rack because that bike didn't have the eyelets that I realized I wanted after buying it. The rack was another $120 or so.

I don't regret buying that hybrid though because from it I learned what it was I wanted and didn't want from a bike. I did take that bike off-road on a light trail a couple of times with my husband. I also realized I wasn't concerned about speed but more concerned about being able to go for miles on end and being able to support myself if need be. So, I didn't need a race-mobile which was good because most race-mobiles do not have the eyelets I needed to be able to support myself. Because I wanted a bike I could potentially take on some light off-roading I also knew I needed a bike that could accept wider tires. I would never have realized this stuff had I not bought myself that too-small hybrid and not ridden around.

You sound like you have a good idea what it is you want to be able to do with this bike. I recently helped a friend with a bike purchase and told her that as long as she got a bike that fit her and had enough gears (we have some hills) that she'd either love to ride and ride often or she'd abandon riding and the bike would go to waste. I wasn't sure about her and her budget was sub-$200 so I recommended that she get a used bike from Craigslist. Together we scoured and I found her a hybrid some guy was selling. She still regularly rides it. Maybe one day she'll upgrade.

My point of my long-winded post is that we typically don't know what we want when we first start out. Lots of us start on bikes that don't fit or on comfort and hybrid bikes. For a lot of us it's a trial and error process. You can buy a brand-new older-model bike for less than $400 but it might not be the bike that you end up keeping in the end. There is a reason many of us have more than 1 bike in our stable and some of even ride them all!

Decide what you want to do with this bike. Do you think you've got the racing bug in you? Then you may need a different bike than what a long-distance rider who sometimes goes off-road would need. After that, make sure whatever bike you buys fits you properly. Any reputable bike shop should do this for you. Don't do what I did and buy a bike that is too small or even a bike that is too big. Then I would look at budget. If you buy the right bike and truly see this being the one for the long-haul you may be a little more flexible in terms of what you spend. It's better I think to spend a little more on THE BIKE rather than spending smaller amounts on bikes that just aren't right. But please don't put yourself into debt on this note.

Ride a bunch of bikes and keep in mind what you want to do with it. Tell your LBS how you'll be using this and what your future aspirations on it may be. They should be able to point you in the right direction.

I myself decided on a tour/cross bike as it was everything I was looking for: drops, steel (comfortable for riding hours on end), could accommodate wider tires for off-road use, and had all the proper eyelets so I could put a rack and support myself. HTH! And definitely let us know how it goes and what you decide!