carfreephilly

No need to be embarrassed--lots of folks here have bought multiple bikes, as both well-planned and impulsive purchases, that later turned out to be poor choices. A year ago, you could not possibly have convinced me that the Trek Belleville wasn't exactly what I wanted. I ordered one, waited and waited, finally got it, and within 3 months realized it was just not appropriate for my 7 mile commute--too slow and heavy. I also bought a Kona Ute (utility bike), but within 6 months realized that I could comfortably carry almost as much cargo on my little Brompton folding bike. So...now I'm back to my Brompton for every day commuting! I sold the Ute at a big loss, and am currently trying to offload the Belleville (also at a loss). It's a gorgeous bike, and perfect for the right person, but that person is not me.

I spent way too much money on bikes in the last 18 months, but you know what? You learn a lot about what you DO want through those mistakes, expensive as they may be. I've found that I like small-wheeled bicycles best, so I'm sticking with my folding bike and an awesome old non-folding Raleigh Twenty as my back-up bike. I can do 90% of what I need on those two bikes. For everything else, there's public transit and Zipcar.

Test ride a bunch of different kinds of bikes, see what feels best to you, and don't beat yourself up if it's not the right choice forever, or for every application.

Denelle

I don't think anyone can really say you need "x" bike to be able to live car-free. The bike that you need will be one that fits your needs. That will be different for everybody.

When I sold my minivan, the bike that I chose was a hybrid/comfort style bike. My husband added racks and paniers to it for carrying groceries. I ride it often, most of the time with both a trailabike and an ibert attached (with children in/on them). Having a "womans" bike was important to me, so I just looked for one that fit well and added on from there.

Roody

I agree with Denelle that fit is the first consideration--especially frame size.

Weight is important because eventually you're going to have to lift your bike and carry it somewhere. I have to carry my bike upstairs, so wieght definitely is a consideration. But for utility riding, weight is not the main thing, IMO. My 12 year old grandson (120 pounds) rides a 40 pound bike comfortably. (I wouldn't want him to have a lighter bike at his age, because he already gets too far ahead of me on trails.)

However, bike weight becomes a bigger issue if you have to climb a lot of hills. It's also easier to get a light bike going if you have to stop at a lot of traffic lights. Once you reach cruising speed, wieght doesn't seem to matter much, IMO.

Another thing to consider is the versatility of the bike. How easy is it going to be to add fenders, racks, a pump, a lock bracket, and so forth? My favorite bike right now is a Haro MTB with a compact aluminum frame. It rides beautifully--nimble but stable--but there's no room inside the diamond to mount anything but a water bottle cage. I have to carry my pump and lock in my backpack. I doubt if I could even mount fenders or a rack, due to the geometry of the frame and the suspension fork.

A rigid MTB with a full size frame would actually be a better choice for me, if I didn't love the ride quality of the Haro so much. A lot of times you have to make sacrifices in a bike--decide on what features are most important for you, and give up something that's a little less important.

Addendum: This was a long post, and I thought I said everything I wanted to, but...

I don't want to sound shallow, but I think style (or the look and reputaiton of a bike) is an important consideration. I'm not sure the OP would be happy with an old MTB or a folder because it has a different look to it than what she wants. If you love your bike, you're going to be happier riding it, and that definitely counts for something. Who wants to ride a bike they think is ugly or unfashionable?

Roody

I don't think you can beat a rigid steel MTB for city riding. Put some 1.5" slick tires on it and you're ready to go over the rough pavement, curbs and "shortcuts" that are a big part of urban riding. The wheels hold up well for us heavier riders also.

It's harder to find fully rigid MTBs than it used to be. I have grown to like the fork suspensions, since I've had injuries in both wrists.

GeoKrpan

I was thinking Public Bikes too. I like the M8, eight speed, mixte frame. I've saw a couple of young men riding them at the Ciclavia event in LA and they were moving along very quickly.

trike_guy

That's amazingly heavy! My trike weighs in at around 75 pounds. Its not fast either, but it has the advantage of not wobbling on slow hill climbs. I don't see a lot of advantages to something so heavy that does not come with a large integrated cargo box.

Now I'm going to be wondering about the weights of bikes like that which I will see on my way home.

Good luck on your quest.

cooker

Wow, it must be quite a new store. I work near there and don't know about them, although the name does sound familiar, and although they do appear as a red tab on google maps, they aren't visible on streetview (although I am seen, a few blocks away, riding on College St!). I'm going to check it out myself next week after my holidays.

PS that second sentence is my personal record for using the word "although".

Roody

Wow! My dream is to be on street views, although I know I will probably never accomplish this, although I will certainly keep trying.

gerv 

I counted only 3, although I'm a speed reader and there actually could be 4 or 5.

Cheshire

When I was getting ready to purchase the bike I have now, I started with writing down what I wanted to do with the bike. How far did I want to go? What kind of hills would I end up climbing? Pavement only, some gravel, light trail, shortcut across cow pastures and through the woods?
Weather? Seasons? Cargo types?
I didn't look at the bikes first, I looked at what I needed out of the bicycle and then, list in hand, started looking for bicycles that matched my list. This may not match you, but here's my list and match as an example.

I need something that can do long distances, carry cargo, have flat bars (I need to keep my lower back straight-ish), and be able to do steep hills. I need tire options, though I'm not doing heavy off-road. I need solid brakes that can stop me with a loaded bike going down a steep hill.
I then looked around at some of the local bike shops. I ended up picking the shop I did because I was college classmates with one of the guys that works there and I got along well with him.
I picked a Marin flat-bar "29er city" bike. 700c wheels that can take as small as a 28mm width tire and as large as I'd like (it came with 700x42). 700c has a great selection of narrower tires, plus cyclocross gives some awesome knobby and studded tire choices. I'm less likely to have to wait for a special order if I destroy a tire casing. It comes with cable disc brakes (there's the stopping power!) and can be equipped with a rack and fenders (I checked first). Gearing: this was my final deciding point between two models in the same category. Both had a triple crank with 28/38/48 chainrings, but one had a long-cage derailleur and a 28-14 cassette while the other a medium-cage with a 25-12 cassette. I needed something that could be expanded to a mountain cassette (32-12 or 34-11) if necessary, so that ended up making my choice for me.

cooker

Okay, I was bored, so I biked down there out of interest and it does exist! They have a tiny store front with about a dozen bikes ready to go, including several Public Bikes, and they offered to have me test ride any of them. They're mostly steel commuter and utility bikes with fenders, hub gears and an upright position. They've been open 5 months. I just popped in briefly and didn't look at the prices.

VintageRide

I know I should not mention them - but perhaps, if anything, you might want to check out the Rivendell Bicycles site if you are not aware of them. Do not own one myself but I do like some of their models they sell. Admittedly not for everyone even when considering the price but they do what they are designed for very well and are sought after and ridden by many. You would probably like their Betty Foy.

Roody

That's actually a pretty good suggestion, IMO. If the OP wants a bike that's beautiful and practical and not too heavy, she can get one if she shells out the dollars. Custom or low-volume bike makers are a good way to go if you can afford them.

cooker

I've seen the camera cars go by several times, so i actually spent some time on streetview going up and down some of my usual routes to see if they caught me. I also found a shot of one of my kids walking. They blur the faces, but he had a distinctive long black coat, and I was wearing recognizable clothes too.

cooker

Regarding the OP, if you do decide to come to Toronto, remember that even though our dollar is approximately at par for currency exchange, prices tend to be higher here. Also, when I buy an American bike I have to pay duty. I don't know how it will work for you, but it would be unfortunate if you had to pay some excess charges as an American buying an "American-made" bike in Canada.