acroy

This is for my wife, who runs errands by bike. she currently has a kiddie seat mounted and will start towing the kiddie trailer soon. Most trips are under 10 miles r/t.

she's currently using a mid-level mtb I bought her a few years ago.

she'd like a more upright position, less weight on the wrists.

I'm thinking maybe internal gears, maybe disc brakes as well. Price is not particularly an issue, anything under a grand or so is ok if the bike's worth it. Light weight would be a plus. I was thinking a Townie, perhaps?

I feel lazy I haven't even started looking, but knew I could count on you all for some opinions

jimmuter

If you have an REI near by, check out the Novara Transfer and the Novara Fusion. They may not be upright enough, but the bars are adjustable and it comes ready to go with racks and fenders and all of that. I don't think they have disc brakes, but the Fusion's braking system is different and may work for her. They have internal hubs and I'm not sure about the weight.

I don't think the Townie has internal hubs or disc brakes, though I could be wrong. My wife has a Trek Calypso which is a cushy ride, but doesn't satisfy most of your criteria. It's heavy too. Good luck!

Industrial

Electra Townies are pretty nice, though the position is still kinda uncomfortable. Kinda like riding a chopper. The cannondale street almost looks like an old english 3-speed. So does the breezer citizen. Maybe take a look at those if there is a dealer nearby. You could always buy a dutch bike or a vintage english bike but both of those are heavy.

I don't think your wife needs disc brakes unless shes shredding through 6 inches of mud.

thdave

Other good options are the Breezer and Biria. I never hear anything about Biria on this website, but it's an interesting bike with an unusual frame. Biria is a good option, particularly if she's short. It is very easy to get on and off.

pinkrobe

I've been sourcing and building bikes for my wife for 8 years, and I can say without hesitation that you should find her the lightest, most efficient bike possible. Spend the extra money and get her a high-quality hybrid like a Specialized Sirrus or a Trek Portland. If you're a bit strapped for cash, modify a road bike and set it up with wide-range cassette.

acroy

Thanks for the inputs all, good food for thought. I'm convinced light is the way to go, biking is a lot of effort for her, and I want to make it fun & easy as possible.

I'm liking discs cause i put them on my commuter 6 mo ago and will never never go back... I love the reliability, no maintenance, and power. Especially since she'll be towing a kiddie trailer with groceries & such, i figure great brakes are a cheap form of insurance.

she's 5'6" so she fits standard bikes no issue.

The Scott Sportster, and Trek 7.3FX disc look pretty good, I could always get a taller stem & riser bar for a more relaxed fit.

any other bikes in that same vein?

thdave

It's fun to have a lightweight bike, but you don't want one that doesn't have the utility to go shopping and run errands. It's more fun, imo, to have a bike well suited for what you want to do.

That said, I don't know if I'd want to pick out my wife's bike. Mine doesn't use hers enough as it is, and I know she'd use it more if she really liked it. Shopping for it might help.

My wife rarely rides her bike and that frustrates me to no end. Finally, this weekend we needed to do some shopping and I agreed to go with her if we rode bikes. She said ok! I don't think she really enjoyed it, but it was fun for me.

I have a chance to get my parent's old Schwinn Twinn and she says we have no room in our garage.

mlh122

My wife rides a Kona Smoke for commuting, she likes it alot as it has full fenders and an upright position and everything is color-matched flat black. The slick tires roll very well but it still is stable and sturdy like an mtb. She test rode my road bike and thought the speed was nice but the handling was too squirrely.

I also have an old Specialized Streetstomper for commuting, it's fairly light for a cromo bike, rides great and only cost $5 + $8 in parts.

dynaryder

Discs and an internal hub are rare. My Otis has them,but it's only a 3sp. I rebuilt my 1x1 with a disc front and Nexus 7/rollerbrake rear,you might want to go that route. Otherwise,a Kona Dew Deluxe would work,or one of Cannondale's Headshok MTB's with slicks. It's not the lightest bike,but my Novara Safari would work. You can adjust the bars and stem to many postions,it has a rear rack and will take a front,and it was a wide gear range and nice Shimano discs.

pinkrobe

My wife rides her road bike as much as possible, up until maybe an inch of snow on the ground. I set up an old mtn bike with spiked tires for her, and she complained about the weight so much that I had to set up an old CX bike with studded tires and a 12-34. She likes it much more than the mtn bike because it weighs about 5 lbs less and can roll a lot faster. She's not gentle with her bike either - she doesn't jump/dodge potholes or avoid glass in the road, and has snapped a rear derailleur in half when sprinting away from a light [high-level soccer player for 25 years = strong legs].

Itsjustb

Does your wife have a sister?