Never seen an REI, but there is something called Mountain Equipment Co-op here. Similar, but no good bikes.
By dealer I mean the official distributer of the brand In canada.

I am not sure if they sell to people. QBP is our biggest distributor and I can't buy a bike directly from them.

I think that's sound advice except for the part about not talking to anybody.

Shop for a shop first. There's more difference between bike stores than there is between bike brands. When you find the one with a salesperson who asks all the "right" questions about you, where you picture yourself riding your new bike, are there other people you plan to ride with, what kind of past experience you have, that's it.

Buy a brand that they carry and you'll never go wrong.

I was thinking that a good bike shop would not let someone in and out the door without talking to them. Just trying to take the intimidation factor out for the op

You have a point.

Any bike shop who's personnel will watch you look around and let you walk out of the store without trying to talk with you, ain't the right one.

As I am sitting here searching the web for a bike that fits your (and my) criteria it dawned on me that regardless of what I find if your LBS doesn't carry it, its a no go. So I would say get to the LBS and see what they have.

Oh, the distributer, RB Incl, does sell to people.
I am planning on going with the Jamis Durango 1.0
Thoughts?

$450-ish is enough to get you a good bike with gears. Another hundred bucks expands your options nicely. Bike people will still call it a cheap bike, but non bike people will marvel at how much you spent. :D

The bikes at big box Walmerde and general sporting goods stores are of uniformly lower quality than what you'll get at a bike shop, sometimes for a bill or two more, sometimes even for a similar price. I got my Zum at Performance for $300. That is cheap. Not one bike in a big box could touch it.

You'll notice that some brands are found in both big box and bike stores. Diamondback, Schwinn, Mongoose, Fuji are all examples. But you will notice that the models in the bike store are not the same as the ones in the big box. That's because no bike store will put anything that lousy on the floor and sell it to you. Another way to put it is, the brand name in the big box is not a "real" brand name bike but a cheapo junker with the brand badge slapped on in the hopes of making a buck off the non bike people who buy a bike.

I realize that there are people who make these bikes work for them, but I don't think even they would quibble too much with my characterization.

A highly visible example is Schwinn. Go look at their website. You'll see that some models are marked "Signature." Not to put too fine a point on it, those are the decent ones found only in bike stores. The rest may be found in the big box. Now, go to a big box and try out a Schwinn cruiser or comfort bike for $200, give or take. Then go to Performance and try a Schwinn Willy or S1 for $200 or Voyageur for neighborhood of $300. There is just no comparison. And we're still talking cheap bikes, not elite bike snob stuff.

Also, big box bikes are almost always assembled by people who know nothing about bikes and care even less. You're on your own there. A decent bike store has a bike mechanic assembling and adjusting your bike. If there's a problem, that bike is unlikely to even go out on the floor. They'll work with you to fit you right and all that. Totally better experience, especially for a novice.

Just my take on it.

Looks like a good bike, but it's not for me and not really for pavement. I hate the fork, and the tires are too fat, and I'd rather have 700c than 26" wheels. I also like city bike touches like a guard on the chainring. What you have there is definitely a mountain bike.

Jamis has a nice selection of bikes. I again, would steer you clear of that suspension fork. The Jamis Coda (sport or comp or femme (because I don't know)) looks to be the exact bike I would recommend. Steel frame, wide tires, no suspension, locally available, wow super gearing for a stock bike...a 23.6 low gear is wonderful, stock tires are nice (my wife has them on her bike and they have been great) I personally like the color on the comp better but i am not riding it. That is a great bike

oh great,...now I want one:thumb:

Now we're talking!

Edit: would rather see 40c tires than 32c as a compromise between road and trail. Still, the Coda is awesome.

used & a 1 year search ...

I understand your concern for a fork, but I have used a non suspension bike for 2 years now, and positively hat it. Seeing as I am not a "hard-core" biker, I think the Durango is a more justifiable expense.
Besides, this is still assuming I can sell my PSP and my tablet

Thanks a lot for all your input. I hope this thread helps people in my situation in the future.

Why do you want shocks up front? Do you plan to do serious "technical" mountain biking?
Shocks on a cheap bike are bound to be worse than worthless, and you don't really need them.

I hate shockless biking. I do do a bit of biking where the terrain is a bit technical, and I plan to do a toronto to niagara trip in the summer.

Now that you have raised your budget, you can consider a new low end bike or a used higher end bike. There are good used bikes that may cost $900 or more when it was new... and for various reasons, lost interest in biking, got a new hobby, bought the bike for the wife but she doesn't wants to ride anymore, got too many bikes in the house and not enough space, etc... These can be bought at your budget. Sometimes other than dusty from being unused for a long time, these bikes are as good as new.

I had a friend who is 75 years old, and due to failing eyesight and his lost of confidence in cycling with traffic, sold off his 10 yr old Klien Attitude with XTR for US$500. It is in mint condition because he doesn't go off road, and regularly sends it to the bike shop for adjustments and it is stored in his living room.

Schwinn Sidewinder is probably what you want. Under $200 bucks. I ride mine several 1000 miles a year. I did a 2,000 mile bike tour on a Schwinn Sidewinder in 2005.

Raleigh makes hybrids in that price range, but they don't have suspension. I love my Raleigh Passage. It is a most excellent bike.

I will reaffirm; you don't want a suspension fork on this budget.
For a decent fork, that is actually usefull and not just dead weight, expect to pay at least 300$ for the fork alone.
WIth the budget as stated, any suspension included will likely be simple coil springs- no air, no oil, no damping.

You're better off going with a rigid frame and fork; and using fat tires if shock absorbtion is a concern.

Interesting - MEC sells $1,300 bikes and you were originally looking for something in the $300 range but you don't think they have any good bikes?

Did you have a look at their online gear swap? There's everything there from Louis Garneau, Norco to Argon 18.

I'm a little confused. First you wrote:

But then you followed up:

By "technical," I understand rough off-road riding, singletrack, etc. So if you're doing that, your earlier post is misleading, and would explain why people keep telling you something you don't want to hear.

Are you doing Toronto to Niagara on an unpaved trail? If you're going to be on paved surfaces, you don't need suspension. Use wide tires at a low pressure and you'll get all the suspension you need. I tour on a small-wheeled Bike Friday and have never felt a need to have suspension, even on rough Irish roads.

If you ride mostly on pavement and smooth gravel or dirt roads, and you hate biking without shocks, it could be that your tires are too narrow or that they're inflated more than they need to be. The maximum pressure on a tire sidewall is just that: the maximum. To figure out what your pressure should be, check out this article, excerpted from Bicycle Quarterly.

So if I understand you right, you plan to go on a road tour on a mountain bike with a cheap suspension fork.

Or is the trip on trails? I don't follow.

I found a 2009 GT aggressor at my LBS for $390.
What is the bike like? Is it any good?
I did find some specs, but I wasn't able to confirm if the specs are for the same bike.

Here is the link: http://cyclepathnorthyork.com/
Go to bikes>mountain>scroll till the bottom.

Groucho... I don't plan to do a road tour. It is a trail.

I'm not sure of the exchange rate, but $390 doesn't seem too good a price for that bike. BikePedia lists the MSRP as $350 US. It seems that they are asking full price for a leftover from 4 years ago. I would beat them up on the price quite a bit.