Recreational & Family - Bike for my wife

Hi everyone!

My family and I all just started biking last year. My wife was going to buy the kids now 8 and 10 used bikes but got approved for a Walmart credit card and bought herself and my now 17 yr old huffy beach crushers and the kids cute cheap bikes. After her limit was gone I bought an old gt aggressor for $80 and started biking.


Most of last summer I took the kids trail riding at least 1-3 times a week normally 6-8 miles. The problem, is i took my wife one time just her and I and she had the hardest times doing the tiny hills on the bike. Granted it was her 1st ride since being a kid but being a beach cruiser made it that much harder.

Since her 1st ride was so brutal, it's been impossible to get her on a bike again. I've started looking for a multispeed bike to make it easier but she is soo picky about styles and colors! She hates the look of mountain bikes so they are out.

I was going to order her the schwinn discovery 700c off of amazon for $250 and have a local shop put it together for $70. I read somewhere here that doing that is a slap in the bike shops face. I took my wife by the shop and the store sells mostly raleighs and showed her the venture city with 7 speeds for $280.

My question is, will 7 speeds be enough for her? Is this a good enough bike for a very casual rider and good enough to get her to fall in love with the trails like me and the kids?
I really hope the right bike will get her to crave riding like us!

Also is the Raleigh a much better buy than the schwinn, or are they about the same?

A 7 speed will never keep up with a decent hybrid or mtb, but its certainly better. My wife got a 'fashionable' shopping cruiser and the one and only time she tried to ride the 3 miles to the local park it was too hard. I was sitting there barley even using any energy on the middle ring with 20kg of kid on the back.

How many speeds is her cruiser?

Yes, the more gears the better. A 7-speed might be a good start, but then she will end up in the same boat again soon.

Look for hybrid bikes; they are made for her demographic. There are so many styles and riding positions among the different brands, too, so don't just look at one or two and get discouraged, because there WILL be one out there that she will absolutely love.

My wife, for example, got a Target bike (told her not to) and she despised biking. Then I got her a Specialized Crossroads and adjusted the handlebars up and now she won't stop riding. The price might seem high compared to a Wal-Mart bike, but if you are going to ride more than a mile once a week, she has already outgrown a Target/Wal-Mart bike.

I thank you for your responses. SonataInFSharp, I would love to buy her a hybrid but she loves the cruiser look. I think mountain/hybrid is what she needs but all she cares about is color and style. I know if she finds the right bike she will live the trails like me and the kids.

Funny thing is my 17 year old has a huffy cruiser too but loves the scenic trails so much she doesn't complain despite the difficulty of going uphills.

SonataInFSharp, I would love to buy her a hybrid but she loves the cruiser look.
Fashion over function, eh? Good luck with that. :D She will not find something she loves to look at AND loves to ride, then. It's not going to happen, I am afraid. :(

A 7 speed will never keep up with a decent hybrid or mtb, but its certainly better. My wife got a 'fashionable' shopping cruiser and the one and only time she tried to ride the 3 miles to the local park it was too hard. I was sitting there barley even using any energy on the middle ring with 20kg of kid on the back.

How many speeds?

As far as quality is the raleigh venture that much better than the schwinn hybrid? I know that amazon and sears sell the bike but if I have a local shop put it together is it just as good or better? It looks cooler than the raleigh plus has front shocks and 21 speeds.

Well, after a 45 year absence from cycling, in a matter of only two weeks, I went from a Target Schwinn Clear Creek Comfort bike to a LBS Raleigh Venture 3.0 Comfort bike. The Raleigh is my "goto" bike and the Schwinn has been relegated to backup/loaner status.

In all honesty, I can't say I'm sorry I bought the Schwinn but, in retrospect, had I know I was going to enjoy cycling so much, I would have just bought the Raleigh.

That said, the Schwinn went from the rack at Target to the LBS as they were having a 1/2 price special on spring tuneups. The tech told me it's one of the better built Target bikes. It still gets ridden most every weekend as someone uses it to tag along on a ride.

The biggest difference I can see is the overall quality. In terms of hardware, shifters, brakes, cranksets and the visual aspects of the overall general workmanship like the welding of the frame joints is of much higher quality.

Schwinn warranties the frame for 1 year. Raleigh warranties the frame for life. IMO....that says something.

Quote Originally Posted by krobinson103 View Post
A 7 speed will never keep up with a decent hybrid or mtb, but its certainly better. My wife got a 'fashionable' shopping cruiser and the one and only time she tried to ride the 3 miles to the local park it was too hard. I was sitting there barley even using any energy on the middle ring with 20kg of kid on the back.
How many speeds?

That bike is an old 21 speed cheapish bike. It has no problems out pacing a cruiser even with the extra weight of a rack and kid on the back. Now if I rode my nice exercise MTB... well there is simply no comparison. Her cruiser has 7 speeds and while the ratios are good the back tyre is half the size of the front. Pretty? Yes. Fast? no way...

I was going to get her the seven speed venture but will now buy them venture 3.0. My 17 yrdaughter has a huffy cruiser and the other day while trail riding after doing well for 4 miles she started walking hills. Until I can buy a bike with gears for her she can use her moms on our rides.

The venture 3.0 looks like a good mid point between comfort and speed. I think you will find your daughter will enjoy that bike.

The venture 3.0 looks like a good mid point between comfort and speed. I think you will find your daughter will enjoy that bike.

Speaking from experience......it is a VERY good midpoint and has the potential to last her a lifetime. My experience with my Venture 3.0 has been nothing but great!

I have a seven speed cruiser (Electra Townie) and do fine with the hills on the trails here and in my neighborhood. My daughter has a 21 speed mountain bike and she walks the hills sometimes.

That might be a good trade, is she cute?

That might be a good trade, is she cute?
Cuter than your joke. Good one.