Yeah, there are lots of basic, good quality bikes in the $400-500 range. People just need to go to a real bike shop or a place like REI with a good bike departm

Yeah, there are lots of basic, good quality bikes in the $400-500 range. People just need to go to a real bike shop or a place like REI with a good bike department and helpful staff. It is true that once you drop to the $200-300 range, there is a lot of junk to avoid. My current bike is 10 years old. I bought a $500 hard-tail Marin mountain bike to use for commuting, expecting that it would be able to take some abuse. My wife has a similar vintage bike from the REI house brand at the time (Novara) and it seems of similar quality. I am pretty sure both have Giant frames under their paint. These aluminum frames and disc brakes are a revelation compared to my previous long-term bike which was a lugged-steel Bridgestone with cantilever and cam rim brakes. I have been almost negligent with maintenance, mainly just oiling the chain and replacing tires and tubes. I don't miss re-packing the bearings and freewheel like my old bike. I am not sure how much that is due to modern tech versus changes in my riding habits. I haven't left the asphalt with the current bike. I did have to have a wheel re-spoked once after I pounded it in a deep pot-hole with narrow street tires mounted. My Shimano trigger shifters are near the point of needing some kind of major tune-up. I think I would have preferred to keep the simpler indexed levers from the 1990s, as they required a little more operator skill but were less finicky.