Good bike for a beginner?

A secondhand high end Giant would be a good buy on the secondhand market.

zacharyfox911 said:

I'm 16 and I would like to start riding a bike sense running is too hard on my joints. I've suffered severe shin splints and stress fractures but I have a friend who rides bikes. He is mostly into mountain biking and I've actually been in 2 races and I really enjoyed it but I think I would like road biking more. So what is a good bike to start out with? One that's not that expensive and is good. I'll probably end up getting one of craigslist used. Thanks.

Except for the bikes sold at big box stores--Target, Walmart, and etc.--it's hard to find a bad bike these days. The most important factors are going to be how the bike fits you, how it rides, how it appeals to you, and how well it fits the capacity of your wallet. It's possible someone selling on Craigslist would let you test ride a bike, but it's definitely not a certainty. If I were you, I would take someone more knowledgeable about bikes with you when you look at used bikes. Used bikes need to be inspected carefully before purchase.

I started out with a New 2010 (back then new) Specialized Allez comp, I had no idea about bike riding when I bought. But it ended up being a great beginners bike, from there sky is the limit, I have upgrade twice, first to a Specialized Tarmac SL2 and now I have a 2011 Specialized S-Works SL3.
A good tip would be check ebay often for second hand bikes in good conditions, you can save lot's of $$ this way and not like me which I took the plunge with a new bike the first time around

If you have suffered severe shin splints and stress fractures, mountain biking is not suit you, road biking is best, you can go to test a bike you like and buy on the secondhand market, I think you can find a bike not that expensive and is good