An aside from my caffeine thread, I need a good bicycle that will treat me right in training for Triathlons and general cycling. I already have a mountain bike for riding in he woods and such going camping, I am looking for something that will take me the distance. I am asking here because I do not know enough about high-performance bicycles to separate the marketing hype from the real deal, and I am hoping someone can give me suggestions. I am looking for a bike that I could, in theory, say, ride from across the U.S. on, if it came to it. Looking to spend between 300 and 700$. 1k would be ok too I suppose, if it was of the supreme most quality.

Thanks again everyone!

My advice? Find a nice local bike shop, and talk to the guys there. You'll proabably want a Hybrid though.

There isn't a local bike shop in my town to go to, I already checked the phone directory. Nearest one is about 1.5 hours drive, and I do not own a car.

Have you tried looking for Trek shops? After Schwinn got bought out by a cheap company Trek took their place as one of the top companies. My Trek hybrid was only $250 and I love it. Road bikes are more expensive though. The website is http://www.trekbikes.com . If one of those are near you I'd head there. If you're looking for good quality, stay away from places like Target, Kmart and Wal-Mart.

Yeah, I got a bike from Wal-mart and I'm pretty sure that its primarily made of lead. Oh well, thats what I get for being cheap

I got a very lightweight bike from Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, the handles are made of welded caltrops and the gear shift is stubborn as Narsrim.

Hahahahahaa Ok so I won't buy from those stores (I was actually considering one at target but I think I'll pass)

Thanks again for the advice, I have found a bike shop close enough to shop at, though they are mysteriously not listed in the phone directory...