Recreational & Family - Need advice re: Electra Townie

Hello! I'm a 40-year-old sedentary woman in hilly East Tennessee, and I made an enormous mistake yesterday. On a whim, I test-rode a 21-speed Electra Townie around the parking lot.

Now I'm hooked. I can't get this bike out of my head. I want one! But I don't know if it would be useful or fun. Is that the kind of bike I could take on a trail? (not a technical trail, silly, remember the word "sedentary" which = fat and lazy!) But a greenway type of trail? Hard-packed dirt with no rocks or roots?

Riding it on the local streets is out of the question -- they're narrow, twisty, and hilly, with no visibility and nowhere to go if a car comes at you out of nowhere. But there are bike trails and greenways. Is this the bike for me?

Many many thanks for any help!
(Also cross0posted in the Introductions thread)

No problem !
enjoy ! :D

Go for it! The only thing you have to lose is weight. :D

Once you build up some confidence in your bike handling skills on the trails, you might reconsider and tackle the streets, as well...

You've seem to have found the perfect bike for you. The Townie can handle bike paths, greenways, and streets. Go for it. It took a different crank forward bike, Trek Sole Ride 200, to get my wife back into riding.

If you do wish to try out other bikes of the same general type, you can check my thread on this page about Crank Forward bikes, of which the Townie is one. So there are similiar bikes from Trek, Raleigh, and Giant.

I recently bought a Townie 7D after being without a bike for over 5 years. I was checking out comfort bikes when I came across a Townie at a LBS. After reading posts here on bikeforums.net and doing comparisons of other crank-forward bikes, I decided I was going to get an Electra as long as I was satisfied with a test ride. Since I'm just doing recreational riding around the neighborhood, the parks, and bike paths, it's a great bike for me. It's also a very good bike for south Florida since it's very flat. I won't rant and rave about it, because it's certainly not for everyone. However, I find it to be a great bike for me and a comfortable ride. I'm hoping this bike will entice my non-bike-riding wife to start riding.

I would recommend testing a comfort bike, a cruiser, and/or other crank-forward bikes before commiting to purchase an Townie. However, if you're heart is set on a Townie, I'd say go for it!

DO IT. townies are sweet. (test ride others though, just to make sure you feel best on it.)

Get the bike. A bike that's fun to ride is one that'll get ridden.

Hello! I'm a 40-year-old sedentary woman in hilly East Tennessee, and I made an enormous mistake yesterday. On a whim, I test-rode a 21-speed Electra Townie around the parking lot.

Now I'm hooked. I can't get this bike out of my head. I want one! But I don't know if it would be useful or fun. Is that the kind of bike I could take on a trail? (not a technical trail, silly, remember the word "sedentary" which = fat and lazy!) But a greenway type of trail? Hard-packed dirt with no rocks or roots?

(Also cross0posted in the Introductions thread)

If you're hooked, it's the bike for you! Now go have fun...

Now I'm hooked. I can't get this bike out of my head. I want one! But I don't know if it would be useful or fun.
(Also cross0posted in the Introductions thread)

That's your gut telling you to buy that bike, and to ride that bike. Listen to it. I'd be willing to bet that you will find it both useful and fun. Is it possible that being sedentary isn't for you? Remember Newtons first law "objects in motion tend to stay in motion".

Good luck!

It is always a good idea to test ride a few bikes. Bike fit is very important.

Everybody's been very helpful and encouraging, and I appreciate that very much. After considerable agonizing, I went ahead and bought the bike yesterday (24-speed Electra Townie). Wish me luck!

Woo-hoo! Have a great time with it. :)

You go girl!

Well done. Now go ride.

Oh, enjoy your Townie! I have a bright pink (I believe Electra calls it ghosted fuchsia) 3 speed that I ride to work every day and I love it. :) I've got a basket on the front and two collapsible baskets on the back and I use it for everything around here; my poor car only gets driven once every few weeks or so. Careful though, the next thing you know you'll have a road bike too!

My girlfriend rides a townie 21 after not riding a bike since a kid. She's really enjoying it and commutes with it once a week. The cruiser platform is very comfortable, it begs to be rode on.

Hey, Hagan! How's the new Townie working for you?

I got my Townie 21, 5 days ago. I ride from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours every day. It's fun, it doesn't hurt, and it gets me places I couldn't reach on foot. I have NO aches and pains afterwards. I have Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and every other bike I tried made me ache all over. The forward crank means you stretch while you exercise, hence no aches. Plus it looks so darned cool. My lungs work better now, I think this thing may just save my life. This is the bike for people who can't ride bikes. Probably the best decision I ever made.

"But a greenway type of trail? Hard-packed dirt with no rocks or roots?"

For that, you want something with biggish tires- not sure if the townie is like that or not. For the rocks and roots, you want a mountain bike.

We just bought (well, it was July) a beautiful townie 7 speed (internal) for my wife. She just loves it. It is such an elegant looking bicycle. She too, is over 40 and it was a no brainer to get this bike. the ergonomics are great, and with her cronic neck/shoulder/head pain the front shocks are a godsend. I added a seatpost shock and she is about as isolated as she can get from routine bumps of riding.

So I say, go get it!!! you'll love it!!

Hard packed dirt is a great riding surface, when it is really hard packed. No dust at all, no loose dirt. Even smoother than asphalt. My favorite surface to ride on. You can ride on it with any tire, even 700x23.

At least it is great until it gets wet.