any reputable brand is good... no point asking brands since everyone has an opinion on it.. but most importantly... what budget do you consider not costly?

at today's level.... for a total newbie... expect to fork at least RM2 to RM2.5k depending on MTB or road bike.. that includes, bikes.. biking gear and accessories

stay away from exitway... U can look at at polygon, khs & merida..slightly fancier & pricier...u can take a look at scott, avanti maybe..

Giant vs Colnago cant compare light to light... it's different level.
if u want pologon, can visit RodaLink, Merida visit Pedalsport, Scott can visit KH Cycle at Damansara Perdana.
Brand can be from US, but manufacturer mostly done in China.

We are looking forward to your 1st bike. I thinks we all are happy to guide you on any cycling difficulties...

i never heard that exitway is from the US... if it is.. and the products looks like what it is now.. then, it is quite disappointing...

exitway does not have a big brand presence, just take a look at their dealer list and you understand why... that is the sole reason that for the same amount of money you spend.. . you get a better spec'ed equipment on the exitway bike than more reputable brands, based on the first look and on paper.... this however, does not consider the quality of the frame or the efforts put into designing and engineering and not to mention production quality of the frame itself...

polygon, for me is actually no far better than exitway in some ways.. but it has a big force behind it pushing it's presence... while it did not make a lot of fuss about what technology goes into their frames and using a lot of marketing strategies... they at least have quite a big support in the brand and if you visit indonesia... they have polygon concept shops scattered over the country....

merida.. also not as famous as some other big brands like Trek, Specialized... but they are similar to Giant as they are a very big OEM, ODM for even some of the top brands in cycling... so, they know how to make bikes through the years working with the big guns...

also, i am not saying that this will happen.. but you have to plan for it in case you realize that you actually don't like the sport after acquiring a bike... this is where the resale value for an exitway vs. a Polygon, Merida, KHS, Fuji or Scott comes into play...

so... from this point onwards... you have to weigh your options wisely.. one is superb value for money on paper.. the other is a reputable brand that provides excellent design and manufacturing...
maybe some cinaman go US start a company but manufacturing is done in china leh... macam apple dulu... "Design in California, Made in China"... see adi potong stim maximum...especially when you spend RM6k buying a rubishing laptop from them...
except paying for the bill 

think kindredd bought his ex-s40 for around RM2.5k maybe with some accessories...

try to stay with SCR1 or S40 if possible.. SCR2 has an aluminum fork while SCR1 has carbon with aluminum steerer i think...and also 8 vs 9-s on both the different ranges...

one of the movies that i wish never comes out on cinema, or DVD, or TV1,2,3 NTV 7, 8TV or even astro, or youtube, vimeo and wateva screen a person who is not blind can see..
i don't care if it has an alien bike...kiss our already "safe" roads goodbye...