Looking to buy a bike, need some help

[MWM]

I know absolutely NOTHING about bicycles, so I was hoping to get some education from or resident bike experts (read: WOY).

School is about 1.5 miles from my place and I'd like to start riding to school. I also wouldn't mind doing some LIGHT leisurely riding. I don't ever anticipate going trail riding or anything. I don't want to spend a great deal of money, but I also don't want to go to Wal-Mart either.

A friend of mine just bought a bike off eBay for $220. He said it was two years old and in great shape. New it cost around $600. That would be perfect for me. I'd rather have a more valuable used bike, than a cheap new one.

What I need to know is what do I look for in a bike. What do the current buzzwords mean? What are some of the features that would be worthwhile for me and which ones are a waste?

[westofyou]

I MT Bike ride, so I've really only checked out those types of bikes... but PDX is a bike city so I have some tips, stay cheap, stay local. I'd find a shop that specializes in rebuilds and get a bike that is a MT Bike frame (light and strong) with street tires and no suspension. Since your primary use of the bike is to commute make it a cheap enough investment that if it gets stolen you'll not collapse in a heap. My Bike would never get chained to anything outside, I wouldn't trust that it would be there when I came back. You want to ensure that it's there in 12 hours. Go ugly is my advice, stay cheap on the removable parts (Rims, Seats, Handlebars) spend the cash on a good frame and gear system. If the bike is good enough then when you don't commute on it you can upgrade the components later.

Get a good set of street tires that are good off road, not knobby though, limit it to a wider tread than the normal street bike. I have a set of wide treads on my street bike, which is a converted Mt Bike, good fro the wet roads of PDx.