I still regularly ride the Raleigh Santa Cruz I got back in 1996 for around $400. No suspension, no disc brakes - but a decent bike. 18 gears, though the front gear-changing bracket thing wore through last year, so I'm stuck with just the top 6 gears now.[q=Omecle]I was looking at around 800-1,000AUD[/q]That seems quite a lot if you'll mainly be doing road riding. Sure you'd get a great bike for that price, but you could get something adequate for quite a lot less. But then, quality usually comes at a price, and in the end it's up to you.