Newbie looking for a bike

[sylon]

Hi

I am looking for a cheapish bike for some commuting / casual riding. What bike do you recommend for a budget of $500? It needs to be fairly light as I need to carry it upstairs at the apartment I live.

Currently I was looking at Reid Ospray flatbar which is $499. Any other bikes in the similar price range that are better? I have read about a lot of people here say Reid bikes are bad so wanted to ask what my alternatives are. Don't really want to spend more than $500 and it needs to be a flatbar bike I don't have an experience riding those drop-bar bikes so no idea what that is like.

Edit: how does the Giant Cross City 4 compare to the above bike? Seems to be in the same price range.

[nickdos]

Sounds like you've narrowed it down to a flat bar road bike, which I agree is a good choice. I'd suggest you do some searches on http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/ for "flat bar" and specify a price range. Once you have found a few models at a good price see if you can get one of your LBSs to match the price, or at least come
close. At the price range you've mentioned all the brands will be similar so it's simply of matter or getting the best bang for your buck.

[Nobody]

I'd get the Giant. To save me typing, please see recent post below. Although different style of bike, the same principles apply.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=61201#p919356