neoz

My wife is now committed to joining myself and our toddlers on our weekly Saturday morning ride across town to the park.

Here is what I am looking for:

1. simple. Something like a single speed or 3 speed.
2. Good for her short size (5'3")
3. Cheap- ideally used (I am a high school teacher and on a tight budget.)

Any suggestions welcome.

I was thinking a something like a used Trek Lime?

Box worthy

Me and the wife got into biking this past summer along with our toddlers which I pull with a Charoit trailer. She got a Trek 7000 which she is happy with. She rarely takes it out of the middle clog on the front,so she problerly been ok with a three speed or single speed. We ride quiet roads around the city and paved cycle paths.

I am sure you be able to find a decent bike off Craigslist or e-bay,that's where I found my trailer.

Good luck and happy riding.

cplager

Hi,

If you are handy with a wrench, check out BikeDirect.com (you can get a reasonable bike shipped to you for $250).

Internal gear hubs are great, but usually more expensive. I don't really recommend a single speed (3 speed might be enough if she never pulls them and you live where it is really flat).

Good luck and enjoy!
Charles

neoz

Thanks, guys. We live in South Florida, so pretty darn flat.

I ended up going the craigslist route (good idea, box worthy) and got a nearly new Fuji Saratoga 3.0 for only $110. Feeling pretty good about it.

Box worthy

Congrats on your new bike. It's flat by me too but it coming into the cold season in Indiana now so sadly the bikes will be put away until next year. Enjoy your winter.

Turbo231

Glad you were able to find a bike. For others reading this post, its important, at least I found in my case, to find a bike she liked to look at. While I find the mechanics of a bike important, she didn't care as much as it looked nice, and if it gets her out on the bike more, its all win. She ended up with a 1 speed huffy, the quality is just ok and I may sneak a 3 speed hub on there and a front brake, but she rides with me, so its a win.

Box worthy

QUOTE=Turbo231;14909515]Glad you were able to find a bike. For others reading this post, its important, at least I found in my case, to find a bike she liked to look at. While I find the mechanics of a bike important, she didn't care as much as it looked nice, and if it gets her out on the bike more, its all win. She ended up with a 1 speed huffy, the quality is just ok and I may sneak a 3 speed hub on there and a front brake, but she rides with me, so its a win.

[/QUOTE]

+1. Happy wife,happy life.

newbiebiker000

hi guys. I am a wife and my hubby who is otherwise sporty is not too keen on biking. So looking to ride with my 8 year old son. I am short - 5 feet and thick set. On a tight budget. Some city biking with some light trails on weekends. We are in Denver. Any recommendations ? Thanks in advance.

newbiebiker000

Turbo 231, I like your bike. Which is it ? Thanks.

Turbo231

It was a 2012 Huffy Crankbrook from a Canadian Walmart. The US versions were a different color and the 2013's are tan and beige now. She loves the bike but I am going to have to put at least a front hand brake. She's had hand brakes all her life and just having a coaster makes low speed maneuvers hard for her. It kinda sucks as its a painted rim, so I'm sure she's gonna rub off paint. Oh well.

I will say the build quality is very meh, which is expected, but she LOVES how it looks and it fits her very well, so I'll deal with issues as they crop up.

newbiebiker000

Thanks v much ! Looking into the US versions now. I love the way it looks except that I prefer the mountain bike handle bars - easier for me to maneuver.

newbiebiker000

While it does not have the charm of huffy Crankbrook above, this seems to work for me except that it is available in 26". Any way around it ?

https://www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/bi...e-womens-14718

PJCB

I have been through this with my partner, finding a bike we are both happy with for her was quite the challenge. Initially, I made an effort to ask her what she was interested in. This was a big help--she felt included and it made her actually interested in the bike itself. Next, I asked her how she wanted to ride, what was important to her. She also was more concerned about the general aesthetics of the bike rather than the mechanics. After a lot of shopping around and looking at different bikes, I got a clearer idea of what she liked. I ended up picking up a early 1990s Univega Via De Oro, its a hybrid type. She loved the colors and the look, and I loved the mechanics, haha. It's set up pretty nice, it gives her more options. She can ride some easy trails with me and totally kick my butt on the pavement when I'm on my Bear Valley . I just picked up a 1970 Raleigh Sport (ladies) to rebuild for her as well.

Turbo231

Charm is mostly buy-able in baskets and racks. One thing that bike lacks are fenders, which while function, also add an aesthetic to the bike, almost making it look lower I find. You can add those, but if buying new, its nice to have them already installed by the manufacturer.

When you say "26" this is referring to the wheel/tire size. MOST adult bikes are going to have this wheel size (29" is popular with some extreme groups, and 24" are on much smaller bikes.) What you should be interested in is frame size, which for mass market bikes runs from about 17" to 21". That measurement (also shown in centimeters on many bikes) is the seat post height of the bike frame...where the pedals connect to to the frame and where the seat post enters the frame. If you are 5' tall, then you'll want to look at bikes more towards the 17" side of the scale (inseam length is key here, as long legs and short upper body will affect what size you should get. Bikes, generally, scale as they get bigger so the larger the frame, the farther forward you have to reach, etc.

This is where visiting a LBS (Local Bike Shop) might help as they can clue you in as to what size bike you should get and will give them a chance to woo you into buying something they have. Finding the right size is the most important part of buying a bike, miss on that and biking just isn't as fun.

newbiebiker000

Nice PJCB !
Thanks Turbo 231. Yes, I meant wheel size. The online sizing calculators tell me the correct frame size for me is 14.5. A used version of the following bike is available to me. Think it would be worth it ? https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...0#.UdMgc_XnYup

newbiebiker000

It is available in frame size 14.

newbiebiker000

Tribute to you guys. . https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ie-convert-!!-)

Turbo231

Possibly...sure there are people better then I to pick value, but I say why not...with used bikes, as long as you don't pay too much, you can always resell them for what you paid for them...usually.

fietsbob

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/colle.../cocoa/cocoa/#


You do know about Craig's list .org dont you. I'm not going to search that for you ..
take over .. you got till school restarts to figure that out ..