Buy.com has the Velbon EL Carmagne 540 Carbon Fiber Tripod on sale right now for $129.99 shipped. Pretty good deal considering they are around $300 everywhere else.
I've bought from Buy.com before and have good experiences with them. I'm not affiliated in any manner with them, other than passing on what seems to be a great deal.
Here's the link: buy.com

One of my first tripods was the Velbon 540, and I was very happy to have it. There's a set of Bogen/Manfrotto spikes which can be easily mounted (~$30/set). The column shouldn't be extended, but it comes in two pieces and can be reversed, too. Capacity is similar to a 1-series Gitzo, which is to say not very high, but with my bag hanging from the center column hook, it was nicely stable. The included head is total junk, but can be easily changed to the small Giottos MH-1302, and you've got a nice lightweight setup for <$300.

PS - shouldn't this thread be in the General Gear-Talk forum, with all the other tripod threads?

Jim, i've got the 540 and it's not only a light tripod it's real strong and at that price a real great deal. I use it with a markins head and put the mark IIn and a 400mm on it. Some people say it's too light but it works for me. By the way how's that 7d working out, i'm thinking about maybe replacing my old 20d with one, need the crop for wildlife. Don

They appear to have raised the price to $237.29, relocated the page here and removed the panhead from the offer.

Buy.com seems to have changed, they now seem more Amazon, taking orders but handing it off to other retailers for fulfillment.

bill