Quote Originally Posted by socaljewel View Post
Well I'm 5 3" and since my student days when I bought my Fiji Absolute, I have gained about 20 lbs. But with breast cancer, menopause, raising two kids, bouts of unemployment, I have not been overly concerned with my spare tire around my abdomen. I am used to the solid ride of my 35 lb Fiji bike with friction shifters and big tires. I am scared I will have lots of flats with skinny tires, and I'm scared the integrated brake index shifters will break constantly. I'm afraid I should save the $500 (Costco's Northrock or Wallmart's Trace bikes)
Costco's NOrthrock is not bad from what I've seen of it in Costco. I wouldn't recommend it as a bike for someone with a lot of money to spend - but if you're in debt from the kids, unemployment, etc. - the costco bike is great for the $500 IF it fits you. Make sure to keep extra money for taking it to the bike shop to get looked over. Costco also has a great return policy on that, so if it turns out to be a mistake, you can return it at any point.

But if you can afford more like $1,000, maybe see how far your money can go at REI, which also has a great return policy.

If it seemed like you had a greater sense for what you needed, I'd say go look at used.