Need help!

I don't know much about pre-built bikes, whether low-end or high-end, as I've always had mine built/rebuilt for me. A couple of bikes I've been looking at for my fiance (NOT girls bikes, btw) are the trek 1000 and the Raleigh sport. I can't give you any references as to the quality, because I've just started researching low-end bikes, but they don't seem too bad. I'm on a budget too, but I lucked out and managed to get an old 80's high-end bike with some 90s upgrades for free from a friend which I plan on rebuilding in time. Something like that is the best option, but you can't just go out and ask people to give you their bikes...

So, what should you do? I dunno! But what I might do, and perhaps you can as well, is to save that money which you have at the moment and combine it with the money you say you'll have next summer to buy an even better bike when the time comes. I've ridden low-end bikes before, and sometimes they're great, but as a heavier guy (I'm 5'11' 185 now, was heavier when I started cycling 5 years ago thanks to weight lifting) I tend to break stuff easily. There's nothing worse than spending all your cash on a bike only to break something and be unable to fix it.

In short, perhaps grab something workable from a yard sale/thrift store, clean it up, get new breaks/tires/bar tape and then wait 'til next summer when you can grab something higher-end.

SOrry for the verbal diarrhea! Best of luck!