Originally Posted by
mcavana
Looking to upgrade my wifes bike. The family (me, wife, 14 year old son, 10 year old son) rode 15 miles yesterday on a local trail. Everyone did well but my wife struggled quite a bit at the end. I think the biggest problem is her bike. It is a Solar beach cruiser fixed gear. It is big, weighs a ton, has a coaster brake, has huge tires, and no gears!
She has never had a good bike before. She likes the upright position of the beach cruiser so a normal road bike would NOT work for her. She has never even had a bike with gears before!
My wife is a lot happier with an internally geared hub than a derailleur bike. The IGH can be shifted moving or not and will not drop the chain.
The difference between high and low gear may also prove to be an issue with just a rear derailleur or an affordable IGH. Both are about 3:1 for an 11-34 rear cassette or a Shimano 8 speed IGH which is about one more gear than I get with a 50-34 x 12-23 compact double which many non-racers find woefully inadequate in hills.
This disregards any fit issues.