Hi I am planning to purchase a bike for regular use. I live in Canada, but do not know where to look as for a good selection and good price.
I am willing to drive down to the states as far as to seattle, places near bellingham would be better.

I am looking for a comfort women's bike that has a big comfy seat and is around 26" frame at least. The bike needs to have gears as well.

Please recommend me places and certain bikes to buy, thank you!

Most commuters are well served by a lightweight, non-suspension hybrid or flat bar style of bike from any of the major manufacturers. In the mid-price range there isnt a big difference between brands. Trek, Specialized, Giant etc all make women's models which usually have a women's saddle.
New riders really need to buy from local bike shops where they can get advice on sizing, correct fit and post purchase tune-ups. Not all bike shops can offer that advice, many are just box-shifters.

Hi enemy90,

I have been commuting on my 2012 Schwinn Voyageur 7 since last summer/fall, and it has been great. However, that being said, I do not commute in the winter, Lola (my bicycle) is not yet equipped to do so, but she will be soon (hopefully). I enjoy Lola, she is a comfortable ride, has 7 speeds, a comfy saddle, and I just bought a bike rack that is being installed soon, as to hold my panniers that just arrived today. Anyway, I follow a blog called Simply Bike, and she has great tips for commuting. She has bought all of her bikes off of Craigslist, and had very good luck with them.

I bought mine at Performance Bike, and they have always been very helpful, as have my local bike shops. I am sure you will find that these forums will be very helpful to you, as well.

Best of luck! Let us know how it works out, and what you ultimately decide to go with!

I'm guessing you live somewhere in the Vancouver/Fraser Valley area, given the places you're willing to drive to in the US. If you can narrow down exactly where you live, you may have some local people able to point you to a local shop they've had good luck at. As MichaelW said, buying from a local shop will enable you to getting sizing/fitting advice, as well as post purchase tune-ups. If you're so inclined, bike maintenance can certainly be done yourself, but if you don't want to do that, a relationship with your LBS can be invaluable.

Do you mean a frame that uses 26" wheels? A 26" frame is rather large for a guy, let alone a gal...

I like my Trek Allant, and they do make a women's version. https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...t/allant_wsd/#

There seems to be no shortage of bike stores in Bellingham. I'd probably start at the REI and then try a few others. See what's comfortable to you. (I recommend against front suspension on commuters - it robs power and doesn't add much benefit).

these are a good stylish ride, 3 speeds.. https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...ty/cocoa/cocoa
standard Trek lifetime warrantee on frame /fork.

CDN? others come further south to take advantage of Oregon's lack of Sales Tax.

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses!
I already bought a [TABLE="width: 540"]
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[TD="class: ecxBodyM, width: 120"]26" Schwinn Point Beach Women's Cruiser Bike, Navy/Cream
From walmart.com

But there are a few problems with it upon actually given it a first ride outdoors:
1. The handle bar came loose and now pivots downwards and upwards (such that the handlebars can point to the ground)
2. Sometimes the bike is exponentially harder to ride at times, changing of gears sometimes helps with this. I find that I always have to stop for a bit.

I couldn't get an after purchase tune-up from them as the bike guy was not there at the time of pickup (Bellingham)
I would not like to go back down there to get one

If this is a tune-up problem, how much do they go for in vancouver? Such as canadian tire, or something

Also, we purchased a new bike seat, is it easy to install without any special equipment?

As for the bike handle, does it just require myself to tighten some bolts around the handle bar area?

Thanks!
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There should be 2 or 4 bolts that hold the clamp for the handlebars and probably you just need to tighten those to prevent the bars from rotating inside the clamp. Usually these are metric Allen bolts, but I have no idea about your bike because those sometimes don't use standard components.

Use the gears to keep your feet turning as close to the same speed as possible when you ride even if it means you slow down or speed up. This helps you ride more efficiently because your legs have an optimal speed when you pedal. Once you find your preferred rate of pedaling, change the gears to keep that pace.

I am not sure what you mean you have to stop for a bit. If you mean that you have to stop to change gears, there is something adjusted incorrectly. If you mean you have to stop due to fatigue, don't worry about it, stop as necessary, but not more than 2 or 3 minutes. Over the next few weeks, you'll get stronger and you won't have to stop as often.

Canadian Tire...I dunno if I'd trust them to do tune ups because from what I can find they don't have full service bike shops and maybe not even professional mechanics. Maybe MEC can do it if it's like REI in the US. There may be some bike shops in your area too that may or may not do tune up for you. Many bike shops won't touch department store bikes for various reasons.

Canadian Tire and Walmart are not "real" bicycle shops as they do not offer service, any kind of fitting advice, and the quality of their bicycles and assembly is often suspect although not everything they carry is crap and the Schwinn branded bicycle tend to be of a better quality.

These are not the same as bike shop quality Schwinns as there are two levels of manufacture and quality marketed under Schwinn's name.

On the bright side the Schwinn seems to come with a Lifetime warranty and although this is not covered, I would make sure that the hub bearings are properly greased and adjusted, and that the headset and crank set are similarly greased and adjusted.

MEC offers service and their mechanics tend to be decent, to do the aforementioned jobs you are probably looking at an hour of shop time and a small amount of materials (grease).

I would also have the wheels checked to make sure they have been properly built and that they have been tensioned and de-stressed.

After that you should be able to enjoy the new bicycle for a good long time and then just take care of regular tune ups and any service it needs.

+1 x Infinity

If you're not experienced with wrenching on bikes, it's best to carry it to the local bike shop for a tune-up, even if you do have to field all the "Why didn't you buy from US" questions. And if you'd like to get into working on your own bike, I suggest starting small. Figure out how to tighten down the allen bolts that hold your handlebars in place, and slowly graduate from there. Buy a good book (Park's Big Blue Book comes to mind, but there are others just as good) on bicycle maintenance, and never stop learning!

rent some bikes and start cycling and see what you like. plunking down money prematurely can lead to buyers remorse.

Or, borrow bikes from friends...

I will second the Trek Allant, but try to get a previous model year bike. This year's model lost all the stuff I fell in love with.