Any suggestions of decent places to stay in either town (low-mid range) are appreciated. Cheers!

Beta resource for anyone planning stuff outside of Quito. Cheers!

cheap ($7 / night), clean, safe, I stayed @ this one 4 + 3 days in 2005.
(Most of the customers are ecuadorians)

Hotel MANABI room 19
Colon 19-58 y Olmedo
RIOBAMBA - ECUADOR
Telefax 2967-967
Telephone 2967-305 / 2946-274
cel. phone (Hotel) 09-8417-685

Posada del Arte, a hostal/restaurant, in Banos is well worth the stay and the mid range price. The food is excellent with breakfast included in the room fee. The owners are very helpful. It is off the main drag near the waterfall and hot springs so the noise level is great. One of the nicest places I´ve stayed throughout the 7 continents. Cheers!

in Banos :

Princesa Maria (10$ per person) cheaper and nicer than a lot of accomodations in town. We visited several before choosing this one. They kitchen facilities, cable TV & bathroom in the room.
-> you should the bike descent to Rio Verde, nice landscape in the gorge. When you arrive in Rio Verde, you can drop your bike and hike down to Pailon del Diablo waterfall, really powerful and impressive.
There is a tiny restaurant across the falls called "El Otro Lado". You need to go through the first restaurant and then catch a bridge. Very nice place to chill out after cycling.
To go back to Banos, there are "camionettas" waiting for you : 1,5$ to drive you back. Otherwise it's uphill.
-> avoid to be in Banos on weekends, as it is crowded with locals coming to relax
-> if you want hot springs, to go to the one into town called "La Virgen" (crowded and not so hot), go the one a little outside town called "El Salado". It is at the foot of Volcano Tungurahua.
The pools are not exciting (same everywhere in town) but the water is really hot !
You can easily walk to "El Salado", about 15 minutes from the center. Don't bother with the bus, even locals tell you it's far.

in Riobamba :

The best option to sleep is "Tren Dorado" (16$ per person). Again we visited a few before choosing this one. Comfortable.
-> we did the "Nariz del Diablo"... it was the biggest disappointment of our 6 months in South America. At the time you couldn't go on the roof anymore (an accident had occured a few weeks before). The landscape isn't as nice as what you could see in the Colca Canyon (Peru) or in the Yungas (Bolivia). It might seem interesting to take the train down the hill as it makes a "Z" descent. But in the end we thought it was a waste of time and money (8$).

If you want more information about Ecuador, let me know, as we spent 5 weeks there.
The nicest thing in Ecuador is undoubtedly the Galapagos Islands. A life-time experience !