cjp87

Hi all, I've got a couple of questions about recommendations for my wife. I've just gotten into biking this summer (been trying to go at least 20 miles a few times a week for about a month and a half now), and she'd like to start going with me for at least the first 10 miles or so. Where we'd be going around, our primarily paths are city roads and sidewalks, as well as a few country roads. Some of the roads are pretty poor, though, and I think they may be a bit too rough at times for a true road bike to be comfortable. For reference, I'm riding a Tern Joe D24 that has big Schwalbe Big Apple tires, and while I feel the bumps and get a bit jarred every now and then, it's overall a pretty good standard to aim for I think.

The local bike store that we're quite fond of actually specializes in folders, but she's not really interested in those (main reason I have one is it's also my commuter to the lab at school, and I can keep it locked up inside). Outside of those, their main sellers are Raleighs, so that's where I figured we would start. I think that a hybrid should be about where we're looking, but I thought I would ask here first so I could go in with as much information regarding what we're looking for as possible (researching things in depth before a purchase is fortunately or unfortunately how I operate).

All that said, here are I think the things that she would be looking for:

1) Something that would fit her. She's pretty short, 5'3" or so, so the larger frames aren't going to work. Something that comes in a small would be ideal.

2) She doesn't really want the drop bars and super aggressive riding position. I think she prefers to be a little more upright, but not necessarily something like what you'd get in a town cruiser.

3) Enough gears (or rather, proper gearing) to be able to both take some mild to moderate hills (we're in Norman, OK, so most is pretty flat, but there are some hills in the outskirts) and to be able to get some decent speed at the top end. For reference, a Raleigh Venture that she tried with a 7-speed did not have enough on the top end. Also on the Tern above, I don't think I ever have to use the 1st of the front gears, and basically live in the 2nd gear (5th - 8th on the rear), and occasionally pop the front up to the 3rd gear when I get a good straightaway. I hope that makes sense, I'm not too sure on the terminology to use to convey this.

On the budget, I think we'd be looking at $500, give or take. If something is just really excellent at $600, I'd be happy to get it for her, but if the bikes seem to fall more around the $500 mark, that'd be great.

So all that said, I guess these are the two specific questions I mentioned at the beginning:

Does it sound like a hybrid would be what she's looking for? And if so, is there something in the Raleigh line that would be a good fit?

They also carry Diamondback at this LBS, I believe, but again, their selection is primarily folders. They're just great people (and offer free lifetime tuneups), so I want to buy from them if possible.

Thanks in advance!

daihard 

FYI, Trek sell some WSD (women specific design, or something similar) models in 13-inch frame size. My wife is 5'2", and their 13-inch frame fits her pretty well.

GaryPitts

Something like this sounds in the ballpark https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...id/verve_2_wsd. It's a comfort hybrid as opposed to a performance hybrid.

Bill Kapaun

Maybe you want a different cassette on YOUR bike, like a 12-23?

https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-HG50-S.../dp/B001VYRC8M

west coast girl

I am 5'4" and have a trek 7.5 Fx WSD. Fits like a glove and is pretty comfy. Has a carbon fork with an aluminum body. Have had it 4 years. So, I agree with previous responses, Trek Fx series.

daihard 

My wife just ordered a 7.4 FX WSD.

HillRiderEast

The Trek FX series - however the FX 1 or the FX 2 are in your price range. I think the size 15 would be good for your wife - there is a 17, but that may work better if she was 5'5''. I thought about suggesting what I have now which is a Giant Cypress - worked well for me, but I am in a very hilly area and I have to get a bike without a front suspension to do better on the hills - and we have pretty steep ones here.

cjp87

Thanks for the recommendations, all. Looks like Trek is pretty well supported. Is there not anything in the Raleigh line that you can recommend that would be pretty comparable or sound like a good fit? I only ask because the bike store I'd like to buy from doesn't stock Trek in-store (though some of their sister-stores throughout the local metro area do, so maybe they can order them). If not, then we'll check around and see what we can do about finding some Treks.

Edit: Just read about the Raleigh Misceo 2.0, which looks pretty comparable to some of the Trek FX bikes. I'm not sure if they've got one in at my LBS, but I'm sure they could get one since Raleigh is one of their featured brands. Would that be worth looking into vs. the Treks?

no1mad 

Trek has its fan base, but nothing really wrong with Raleigh- they are both mass produced, built to spec elsewhere, and mix/match parts to maintain the desired price point.