Well, it's been six years since I've posted on Bike Forums. I have lurked from time to time, but it's been so long I forgot I was even a member.
The time has come for my car to be semi-retired (she's aging so I'll only be using her in thunderstorms and on trips longer than 5 miles from home). I live in a metro area and there are bike paths almost the entire commute to my university which is about three miles from my house. The grocery store is one mile. My church is about 10 miles, but since it's only once a week, I'll probably drive.
Let's see here:
I'm 24 years old, 4'8" tall, and I weigh 98lbs.
My inseam is 26 inches.
I live on the second floor of my apartment, so I'll be carrying the bike up and down a lot.
I have a screened-in porch where I will store my bike when it's at home.
At school, there are many places to lock up bikes, but I'm still afraid of theft because I live in a dangerous area.
There is one mammoth hill on my commute to school. Other than that, it's pretty flat.
I would love to own a foldie after reading about them. I think they would meet my needs as a very small woman. I am a bit worried about reaching the handle bars properly, though.
Anything is better than my freebie youth Pacific MTB that is uber heavy and doesn't go past 3rd gear. It took me 45 minutes to get to school on this bike when I did a test run last week. I would consider myself to be in pretty fair shape, but this bike just would not go any faster.
Does anyone have any advice or recommendations? Thanks in advance!