Specialized Sirrus 2.0

“Yes and no. I think that if you're in a city or regional centre with a large market for used bikes, then yes, you'll almost always be better off buying used. In an area with a weak used bike market, your choice will be restricted and prices will be higher (that's bad). In these cases, assuming that we're talking about $500usd, then there are still some worthwhile bikes to be picked up in this price range. Also, if you're buying a used bike and are unfamiliar with bicycle maintenance and repair, then it can end up costing significantly more once you factor in things like cables, housing, chains, cassettes, tools, or labour (amongst millions of other random problems and parts). Again, for $500usd you can walk in to most bike shops and ride away with a Shimano equipped hybrid of some variety. It might have a hi-ten fork and a 3x7 drivetrain, but it will work, and you will have some recourse if there are issues or faults. Look for sales and discounts, ex-demo, etc. At this price point you should stick to rim brakes. If you insist on disc, do not buy a disc brake equipped bike unless it has 12x100 front and 12x142 rear hubs. Do not buy a bike with a suspension fork. Model recommendations would be: Jamis Coda Merida Speeder Trek FX Specialized Sirrus Giant Cross City The Jamis Coda is always my first recommendation in this area. They're a full chromoly steel frame and fork, so slightly heavier, but the ride quality is amazing for the price, they're extremely durable, reliable, versatile, and great for mounting racks and carrying weight. With the exception of the Jamis, the others are pretty much all the same bike. Standard but well made aluminium frame, budget oriented but painfully reliable Shimano drivetrain, in house finishing kit, standard spec all round. These are as good as you'll get for $500usd, but they're all great, and it's only really once you get to the $1000 mark that there's a marked increase in quality.”