I have been commuting with a bike for a two years but I've never been a "bike person" so I didn't know there was anything better than the kmart kind of stuff. Big shock when I saw this forum, lol. So far I've been riding a borrowed 30 year old Giant mountain bike on my 7 mile round trip commute, but I have to return it so I need a new bike. I was looking at kmart and liked the look/feel of the Schwinn Riverside women's cruiser bike, but research tells me I should be looking for a $400 bike from a bike shop. I've never bought my own bike before except as a kid, so I really have no idea what I'm doing. I'm on a pretty tight budget so it's going to be tough to shell out $400+ on a bike, but I'd rather spend the money than replace my bike after a year or two. Another question - what are the pros and cons of smaller/larger wheels, if there are any? If it makes a difference, I'm female and 5'0''. Also... I tend to ride in a skirt so I like the step through frame and chain guards/fenders that come with the riverside. Are there any better quality bikes that are similar?

Do you have hills/bridges on your commute? If you don't need gears, then the giant via looks like a nice bike (with fenders) at that price point:
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/....w/9050/48941/

There are lots of other good bikes, but at that price, most will be without fenders and other such commuting niceties. Alternately, you can buy fenders later, like I plan to
Almost all the big names, Trek, Giant, Specialized, Raleigh, Jamis have step through bikes - and at that price, the difference between them isn't much. Try as many as you can, and choose the one that feels right.

Edited to add: the Via has gears in the higher models.

Welcome To Bike Forums, Padma!

Smaller wheels allow you to accelerate faster at the start and change directions faster. They don't hold the line of movement or momentum as well as larger tire sizes. Larger tire sizes traverse obstacles better and given time, will usually over take smaller wheeled bicycles given adequate distance.

Cyclists who are vertically challenged should most probably opt for the 26ers and taller riders would most probably be better off with 29ers. 26 inchers provide a lower center of gravity and therefore, feel more stable when cycling for the shorter rider.

Are there 26ers hybrids? I only saw mountain bikes at the LBSes I visited. I have to buy my wife a new bike in a couple of months, and she's built similar to Padma so the same advice will apply to her too.

Yes! Usually you'll find a few comfort hybrids with 26 inch wheels. Bikes like the Giant Sedona, the Jamis Hudson, the Raleigh Venture, the Trek Navigator, and the Marin Muirwoods come to mind most immediately...

Thanks for your advice everyone. I wouldn't even consider 29 inches. I was more split between 26 and 24, since I was comfortable with both of them. What's the main difference between cheap x mart kind of bikes and 400 bucks bike shop bikes? Do they break down a lot faster, or are they heavier and clunkier? When they do break down is it more of a slow "hm, I might need to get this fixed" kind of thing, or a catastrophic chain ripping, frame twisting, flying into oncoming traffic kind of thing?

Padma, the main problem with big box store outlet bikes, is the fact that you will almost never have quality components installed, and when components are installed, many times they're installed improperly. Therefore, catastrophy can potentially be awaiting you not too far along the road in some cases. Usually, *Mart cyclists get some warning that something is amiss before catastrophy occurs. However, there's no guarantee. Bicycles purchased at your local bicycle shop (LBS) are professionally assembled and come with stronger warranties.

In general, paying $200 at a *Mart fort a Walgoose bike, will not be worth your while. I say that because, someone will have to both inspect and adjust the components that have been installed onto your bike. That will cost about fifty bucks (perhaps less, depending upon the LBS). Secondly, if your components are cheap, they may need frequent adjustment or may fall into disrepair sooner than later and repair bills could easily mount or accumulate.

OTOH, a bike in the $400 range from a LBS will be properly assembled with industry standardized components with at least, minimal reliability assured. In addition to receiving a warranty, you'll usually get a period of time where free adjustments are made. A $400 hybrid is generally considered as a decent entry level hybrid. A $400 hybrid purchased online will usually be worth more than one purchased elsewhere, due to the lack of overhead expenses. There's no middleman!

How much are you prepared to spend on a bike?

Do you have any hills to climb?

Just adding my experience:
My big box bike handle suddenly slipped in the stem. I wasn't carrying tools, so I kept pulling the handle up on my way to work. When I got to office, I borrowed a colleague's toolset to tighten the handle. Also discovered that the nut holding the front wheel to the frame was about to fall off. The chain kept slipping too, the first few days. After that I learned how to do basic maintenance and security checks, and tightened up a lot of things. It's mch better now.

Of course, this doesn't happen to everyone I guess. But I saved up and bought a more expensive one from an LBW, and I'm having way more fun riding it

I'm using my Bike Friday to the exclusion of all my other bikes,
a step thru function is gained , because the top mono-tube is low..

Builder, a small company in Oregon, near custom sized.. 8 different top tube lengths
406 20" wheels, so common spare tires too ..

2 product lines, Tikit a smaller 349 wheel is made to quick fold,
travel bike line, has a partial slow fold and knock down combination to use a suitcase
as the bike box on trips. notably those that add a bike surcharge to your airfare tab.

Don't waste your money on an Xmart bike. A $400 Xmart bike will look like it has awesome features available on high end bikes, but in reality, the components are THE WORST YOU CAN BUY. And the person who assembles bikes at the Xmart is the one who knows how to use a wrench (probably an adjustable rather than a set of sized wrenches). The $400 bike at the LBS may look like it has fewer features, but you'll purchase better quality features. And the bike will be assembled by someone who spends a lot of time just assembling bikes and knows what they are doing. I would stay away from a bike with suspension. That's one of those features that you don't need and the cost of the suspension fork results in cheaper components elsewhere.

Folding bikes are out of your price range. LOL, I wish people would read the original post and not suggest $3k bikes.

A bit more info about your riding situation will result in good bike suggestions.

It's going to be hard to get a really good new bike for $400. I suggest you look for a good used bike. Like cars, bikes depreciate fast, and it's not that hard to get a bike that's $1200 new for $400 used, even one that's only a few years old. I have a ridiculously expensive bike now, but when I first started commuting, I walked into a used bike store and bought an old hard-tail mountain bike with road tires for $75. It wasn't the coolest bike ever, but the frame and components were vastly superior to anything you'll find at Walmart, and at a fraction of the cost. If you don't have a good used bike shop in your area, look at Craigslist or go to estate sales. Estate sales are sometimes a good idea, because sometimes the people selling just want to get rid of stuff. A friend of mine bought a 1970's Peugeot in mint condition (except for the tires) for $20.

I will be going 3 miles each way, all paved. There's one steep hill but the rest is flat. I weigh about 95 lbs and carry 15-20lbs of stuff. I'd really like it if I could ride in a skirt at least some of the time. So... I'm looking for a bike kinda similar to this one in terms of the step through frame, chainguard and other skirt friendly features of a cruiser, but with the leaner build and wheels and slightly lower (but not butt in air low) handlebars. Unfortunately $830 is way out of my range... I'm hoping for something more in the $400 range. And about purchasing better features... I visited the LBS today and asked, and they said the extra stuff would cost $200 without the labor charge. Considering that's half the cost of the bike I was looking at, is this normal in the bike world?

That looks like what I'm looking for! Gears aren't all that important since I don't usually use them anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions!

https://www.breezerbikes.com/bikes/details/uptown_3_ls

It's cute. It's stepthrough. The finish and features are nice. 3-speeds will work for you. Find your local dealer. Buy.