I did tell her stuff like that. That I see lots of 50+ and 60+ women riding 21-speed Navigators on the rail trails and know of women who ride them on roads and hills. I was trying to influence her to like the relaxed comfort bike riding position, so I could angle for that Raleigh Circa 2, which I felt was an excellent buy at $466 for an 8-speed internal hub bike.

But she didn't like the standard comfort bikes as well as the pedal-forwards.

There was no love whatsover for the derailleur shifting. Not after she tried out a 3-speed anyway. She looked down and saw those three front rings and 7 in the rear, shifted by thumbshifters, each with two levers, on both grips, and with no coaster brake, then looked at me and said, "I don't want any part of this." She did try a couple out, and where the smiles had been on the 3-spd rides, they were replaced by grimaces.