I got my bike at REI. It's a K2, not a Novara. Several friends have Novara bikes and seem pretty pleased. I didn't like how heavy the commuter, hybrid and mountain style Novaras were. In my price range, the road bikes weren't much better.

The Madison REI has one saleswoman who is quite good, but most of the rest just don't know about bikes. She wanted me to have my seat up higher (she was right, but my balance wasn't ready for it), and helped us get decent add-ons for commuting and utility use. She didn't try to convince us to do things like buy bike racks, panniers or other add-ons that we weren't sure we needed. And when REI was out of helmets in colors that suited me, and didn't have helmets big enough for my partner, she didn't try to shoehorn us into a helmet add on either.

So, REI can be a good place to buy, but walk away if the salesperson isn't concerned about bike fit.