Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
I recently sold my GT Outback that was slightly too small and completely regret it because I thought I would have found a better fitting steel rigid frame by now.
That thing is an excellent around town bike for short neighborhood family rides, grocery runs(pulling a Burley full of groceries), and would make a solid commuter since its reliable and not worth much(theft).
I have found a few options that I am going to look at in the coming weeks, hopefully one is my size.
You and your wife seem to have found excellent bikes for your needs.
I will say that I once took my GT on a trail ride with adults and it was pretty funny to see the difference between MTB gearing and road bike gearing. Even with slicks on my MTB, I couldn't keep up at top speed and was having to work WAY harder. 45 miles later, I declared I would stick with my road bikes for adult rides!
Finding a used ridged MTB for the wife was not easy, as she has a 26 in. inseam and is only 5 ft. tall so I had to find a Ladies or "Mixte" type frame and even that in a shorter seat tube. Luckly we found her 1994 Nishiki Bravo at our LBS as a "trade" in. We did a lot of updating as it was only a 5 speed freewheel with a double chainwheel set up, (10 speed) so we found some decent priced wheels and converted to 7 speed cassette and a 21 speed. She's really enjoyed it so far although she doesn't get to ride a lot due to her work schedule.
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Take Care, Ride Safe, have FUN! :)
Jo: 2009 ICE Trice T
BJ: 2011 ICE Sprint Special Edition