what kind of bike do i need?

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If you are looking for something super cheap, buy any crappy bike as long as it is in good working condition, but get good slick tires for it. You don't want to be draggin' big knobbies on pavement for 30 miles. You can get slick tires for both 700c wheels (the wheel size of most road bikes) and 26" (the wheel size for most mountain bikes.) Buy a bike that has either one of these wheel sizes. You will have a better tire selection and have less of a chance to get a REALLY crappy bike. Take your bike into your local bike shop and ask them to fit the bike for you. They will adjust the hight of the seat, handlebars. and maybe one or two other things. If you will be riding mostly on city steets, you don't need full suspension, as it is excessive and annoyingly bouncy on cheap bikes.
I'd probably go into a thrift store before I went into wall mart. You have a chance of finding a gem in a thrift store, whereas in wall-mart, It's all purdy much the same - crap. However if you're just getting started, that's fine!

Good luck to you!

 

[Rawr]

I'm participating in a bikeathon, 50 kilometers (31 miles) on city roads. I need to buy a bike and I'm looking for something super cheap. I hear Wal-Mart has cheap bikes...anyone have any suggestions? Also, what should I look out for when buying a bike? I'm looking for one for city roads, for relatively long distances, the 50 k being the most I'll probably do at once. And something cheap. Thanks!