Originally Posted by hokiefyd

Yes, one can certainly be purchased in that price range. If buying new, I think the $700-800 range is a very good place to be in terms of value. You can certainly spend less than that and you can certainly spend more than that, but I think the value for what you spend is very good in that middle range (as it usually is with many goods or services). Look at bikes like the Trek FX, Giant Escape, Specialized Sirrus, and Cannondale Quick for mainline brand aluminum bikes. The Jamis Coda is in this same market niche offering a Reynolds 531 chrome-moly steel frame. That would be high on my list personally, due its steel frame.