VANCOUVER -- Residents of a city that praises its bikeability may be surprised to find a recent ranking does not put Vancouver in the top spot.

Real estate listings site Redfin used Bike Score to rank Canadian cities based on which are the most cycling-friendly.

Similar to Walk Score, the site says Bike Score is a tool that provides a zero-to-100 rating based on bike infrastructure, hilliness, destinations and road connectivity and the number of commuters who use their bikes to get to work.

Vancouver often boasts about its network of bike lanes, but according to Redfin, it's not the best city in Canada.

The site ranked Victoria as the top in the country with a score of 80 out of 100.

"Victoria has a network of hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes and bike paths, including the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, which bikers use both for commuting and recreation," the site said.

Vancouver was just shy of the title at 79, scoring points for its 300-plus kilometres of bike paths, including those recently installed on retrofitted bridges.

A Redfin agent based in the city said homeowners are increasingly interested in being close to transit and bike lanes, and that the number of people who commute in the city has gone up "noticeably" other the last few years.

Redfin said more than seven per cent of trips taken in Vancouver last year were by bike.

And the city plans to expand the network even further as part of its long-term transportation plan. The municipal government says cycling is the fastest growing method of transportation in Vancouver.

A third B.C. city also made the top 10 list: Richmond was ranked in the final spot with a score of 61.

Other bike-friendly spots include Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.

Here's the full list:

  1. Victoria (80)
  2. Vancouver (79)
  3. Montreal (73)
  4. Longueuil, Que. (70)
  5. Brossard, Que. (68)
  6. Ottawa (64)
  7. Waterloo, Ont. (64)
  8. Toronto (61)
  9. Winnipeg (61)
  10. Richmond (61)
     

Best U.S. cities for cyclists

Redfin also ranked cities south of the border based on how bike-friendly the infrastructure is.

Victoria's and Vancouver's scores are comparable to that of Portland, Ore., the city ranked second by the site.

Here's the top 10 list for the U.S.:

  1. Minneapolis, Minn. (84)
  2. Portland, Ore. (82)
  3. Chicago, Ill. (73)
  4. Denver, Colo. (73)
  5. San Francisco, Calif. (72)
  6. Boston, Mass. (70)
  7. Seattle, Wash. (70)
  8. New York, N.Y. (70)
  9. Washington, D.C. (69)
  10. Long Beach, Calif. (69)