The thread about finding a good cheap bike remidned me of a resource for inexpensive bikes in the Chicago area: http://www.workingbikes.org/ You go to their warehouse, look through the rows of bikes (from old cruisers to 80s road bikes to couple year old mountain bikes) and can pick up a decent used bike for $40 - 90. They have a TON of bikes, and they may be a bit beat up but they’re good if you want a decent bike that doesn’t have to look pretty for knocking around in. It is the only place I can find a used bike since I need the smallest adult size they make and that’s hard to find. I got a fairly new, although dinged and with mismatched tires, dark blue Specialized Hard Rock with grip shifters for $70. They will make repairs on your bike if it is not in rideable condition. Also, they use the money they get to fix up bikes and give them to poor people in the third world, so you’re helping people too!
[sub]I am not associated with workingbikes.[/sub]