Advice on a first bike purchase

[malicevoyager]

Hello!

I haven't had a bicycle in about 8 years. I want to bike to work mostly, but want a bike that I can do some light trails with sometime down the line. From the little research I've done, it seems fitness bikes are the type I should be looking at.

I have gone to a couple of shops to check out a few bikes. So far, the one that I like the most is the Raleigh Misceo w/ disc brakes.
http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2012&Brand=Raleigh&Model=Misceo&Type=bike


I'm not too sure, though, what I should be looking at? The two shops I went to had the Raleigh at 479, which seems to be the same price for virtually everything else I've seen plus disc brakes. I've seen various Trek's of the FX series as well as a couple Sirrus bikes.

Would anyone mind giving some advice on certain models to investigate as well as what type of features and construction I should be looking for? My price range is not much more than 500 dollars. Also, how reasonable of a price is the Raleigh I saw?

Thanks in advanced!

 

[kdelong]

The price of the Raliegh is OK. Nearly all of the major manufacturers have a bike in your price range. Your best bet is to test ride them and see which one you like best. Check your local bike shops for Cannondale and Giant. You can also look at some Scott offerings like the Aspect 40.

Take a look at: http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10052&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&orderBy=4&searchTerm=&facet=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=16&categoryId=400308&metaData=

They have a sale going on where you can get a lot of bike for $500. They have also added a lot of stores around the US so there might be one fairly close to you.