Which bike should i get

I would second (third?, fourth?) the opinion that a LBS is generally a good starting point for your first bike. I appreciate supporting local economies, and as you get further in to cycling, having a solid relationship with others in the cycling community is a good thing. I also agree that once you've decided not to buy from the LBS for budgetary reasons, you'll probably get more bang for your buck from eBay. However, there are several other points I disagree with in this thread.

1.) Big name X is a better bike than a given bikesdirect frame. For the same component level, the bikes are essentially the same. The same Taiwanese man or woman welded both the Fuji and the Motobecane. Tiagra on a Dawes is the same as Tiagra on a Giant.

2.) If you're new, you can't wrench on your bike. The internet is a wealth of information. Anyone of reasonable intelligence can find parktool.com or sheldon brown's site or ask the bikeforums mechanics. A set of allen wrenches is a minimal tool investment, and is all that is required to adjust most things on a bike. Worrying about overtorquing a stem on a carbon steerer isn't really relevant to someone interested in a sub $1k bike, since they won't be at that level of component spec anyway. Doing your own wrenching is by far the best way to understand the machine underneath you. If you're confused, pick up a six pack and head down to the LBS, and ask if you can watch while they true your wheels or press in a headset.

Also, since it was never clarified, the Dawes has interrupter brake levers. The same brake cable runs from the STI levers under the handlebar tape, through the bar-top interrupeter levers, and then down to the brake. Two cables are not required, nor would they fit.

A note regarding the frames: the majority of cheap to mid-range bike frames come out of a handful of factories in the Far East. They are just painted with different company's logos. Hence, frame-wise, you are getting the same frame. However, as I pointed out before, bikesdirect has a habit of using knock off brand components for the lesser known parts - an these components can definitely be of inferior quality to their name brand counterparts. So be careful, and look at spec sheets closely.

One of these.

Well at least we agree on this.

26mi235 wrote: Now 25 years passed my racing period.

Those bikes are fine for someone who wants to ride a couple times and then throw the bike in the corner of the garage.

Local Bike shops are the way to go, but go with a little information. Bicycling magazine always has a bike buyers guide once a year and the beginner bikes are a good value.

Do not throw away 4 or 5 hundred dollars and a bike that has parts that are expensive to fix, better to spend 700 on a good bike that fits.

Fit is so important, if you are not comfortable on the bike you will quit riding. You need to have the right saddle height, stem length, bar width etc and most bike shops can do a decent job setting you up.

Off the top of my head i would suggest the GIANT OCR, this is a good basic bike, responsive but stable, good parts that are easy to fix, comfortable and many shops carry Giants. I think Schwinn has a model called fastback that is also relatively inexpensive. Again check out the bicycle buyers guide at Bicycling its a great source for info.

Hey, I recently buy a moutain bike from an online store and I can say that the quality of the bike is impresive and they deliver bike at time with care. I won't found any damage on bike. Before buying any thing I always check the reviews and then after I purchase.