What kind of bike should I buy?

Whoa, the http://www.sheldonbrown.com/biopace.html oval is kind of a weird old thing that almost nobody uses anymore. I don't think it should really be a particular selling point for you as a beginning cyclist. Cro-Moly just means a steel frame and I agree with the above people that $275 is kind of a lot for a 30 year old bike. You could probably find one on craigslist for less than $200 ex: http://cleveland.craigslist.org/bik/1745367543.html

Yup, I'm in Oberlin now. The bike auction is held in the fall, when students return to campus. Right now there are (departing students') few bikes for sale but I doubt it's worth the trip from Tremont.

By the way, another source for some pretty good used bikes is Oberlin, not TOO far away from Tremont (about 30-40 min by car, if memory serves). The police department there has a regular bike auction, and some of the bikes are really nice, and go for peanuts...

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/bik/1744734995.html Backing up a bit, you should put Google to work and get your head wrapped around proper frame sizing. Just by measuring the distance from your crotch to the floor (standing straight-legged, in shoes) and doing a few simple calculations, you'll be able to make a good guess as to which bikes will and won't work for you. That will make it much easier to sift through the hundreds of bikes on Craigslist.

FWIW, I'd look at http://cleveland.craigslist.org/bik/1732535637.html It's in Lakewood.

Thanks for all the responses so far! This is a lot to think about. I have a few responses to some questions raised here (implied or otherwise.) 1. My current bike and the new Diamondback both have straight handlebars. The Japanese bike currently has drop handlebars but Mitch (the guy) said he could change them out. 2. The Japanese bike has shifters on the front tube, which is something I'm totally not comfortable or familiar with, but again Mitch said he can move them. 3. I'm not interested in a fixie. I need gears. 4. Mitch said the Japanese bike probably cost $500 - 600 when it was first made. I have no reason to doubt him. I'll try to find out what kind of bike it is. I'm probably going back on Wednesday to try a test ride.

Regardless of what you buy, ignore Shaker Cycle's "all new bikes are made in the same Chinese factory' scare tactic. There are both excellent and crappy new bikes on the market, regardless of where they're made. This was true 30 years ago as well; the oldies were not all goodies. I'm charmed by old-school bike shops (though it's probably been 20 years since I visited Shaker Cycle), and I have a great deal of respect for the deep reservoir of knowledge that accumulates in the heads of such old bike nuts, but the (perhaps only implied) notion that new bikes are all junk is just wrong. Job#1 is finding a bike that fits you. The wrong frame size will never feel right. Like cog_nate, I wouldn't sweat much over the difference between steel and aluminum frames. Aluminum can be lighter, but the tubes are fatter so the ride is supposedly stiffer. You'll never notice the difference in your short rides. A bike with smooth road tires on lighter, narrower wheels will let you go further faster. The only downside is that there's less rubber and compressed air protecting the wheel, so they're easier to damage if you're careless about the potholes and curbs. I'd look at hybrid bikes, which are marketed as being able to do both on- and off-road riding. They don't really work well for off-road stuff, but they are good for urban environments. Fixies (single-speed, fixed gear bikes) are popular now for reasons I find hard to fathom. In certain moods I can appreciate them in an aesthetic way, but they're impractical if you'll be riding up and down hills. A fixie would be fine in your immediate neighborhood, but if you ever rode it down into the Flats, you'd be walking the bike back up the hill. Biopace -- meh. I had a biopace crank on my mid-80's Nishiki back when it was actually the mid-80's. I wanted to like them, because they were all the rage (designed with the aid of a computer!) but I never really did. I'm back to round chainrings, and happier for it. When you're ready for a rack, trunk bag,etc., your money will go much further online, esp. on eBay or a discount bike site like Nashbar. Century Cycles is really expensive.

http://ask.metafilter.com/154140/What-kind-of-bike-should-I-buy: "sprayed some WD40 into the gear shifts" I don't know what it means to "flush" a gear shift, so maybe he's totally correct, but I was generally taught not to spray WD-40 around unless I needed something loosened. It's a very light, volatile substance, so it's good for getting into frozen crannies and lubing them up for a few minutes, but it doesn't stay on long enough to lubricate. In fact, it can displace the existing lube and leave the part stickier than before, which is why you're supposed to follow up with something heavier. So it's a bit of a red flag that he just sprayed WD-40 into your gear shift and handed the bike back. Can someone who knows more about bicycles comment on this?

I think $275 is a fair price for a 30 year old bike that's completely tuned up. You may be able to find one on Craig's list for $100 less, but who knows the last time its hubs were greased? You'll have to spend the money you save getting it tuned up anyhow.