What's the Best Bike Under $1000

[TxDoc]

My $25 dollar Mariposa is the best bike under 1K

+1: if you buy used you will get more bike for the money, so to speak. It's like with cars - for the price of a new Honda you can buy a used Jaguar

BUT, please please please - test ride as many bikes as you can, and make sure that whatever you decide to buy really fits you well.
Good luck!

[azfiddle]

I have a Fuji that cost $600 on sale- it was an impulse buy- I didn't do all the test drives, but it was in my price range, it was available very close to home, it came in the right size for a very short person and also WSD, and I was feeling desperate to get a road bike and didn't want to spend a long time waiting for a bike. I've put over 2000 miles on it since the summer. I seem to recall that it 2nd in a group of 3 bikes in a review in Bicyling magazine for that price range/women's design.

Overall, I'm still pretty happy with it, but it needed a different saddle. It came with pedals with toe clips, so I've also swapped out the pedals. It is aluminum with carbon forks- lately I've noticed it feels rough on the bumpier roads. That has made me think about an eventual upgrade to something with a more forgiving frame, but that won't be for a while....

Sharon