Originally Posted by slowandsteady
What exactly is unstable about the REI bike? Also, if she is lacking power in the hills, a shock absorber is the worst thing she can get. It will sap the power from each pedal stroke sabotoging her efforts.
I have not ridden the REI bike - it might be fast handling and unstable, but I don't know that. Too twitchy would not be good, but that's sort of the definition of "too", isn't it? I shied away from shock absorbers and springy seat posts for power, but that is a matter of preference. I just prefer a stiffer bike and I get out of the saddle for the bumps. The Trek (above) looks like a good bet. I did look at the REI bike after the earlier post and the ONLY thing I did not like about it was the welds (cosmetic issues, not structural).