I haven't been able to do much riding this year, not even around the neighborhood. Life has just gotten in the way. I had my vacation all planned. My sister and I were taking our bikes to the mountains with us. Right before my trip, my mother's surgery was planned for the last half of my vacation. Instead of taking bikes with us, vacation was cut short due to a necessary trip to PA. There was no place to store the bikes at my mother's. The month of May has been strange weather. Weekends is when I can ride but it seems to rain almost every weekend. Week day evenings, tend to bring showers, too. Besides, I don't exactly have a biking partner so I can't venture too far from home.

Well, one of my biking partners is coming home for at least a few weeks, if not the summer. My son is spending another summer with no job so he will come here and see what he can find. In the meantime, it's also another opportunity for him to be able to spend time with his daughter. That situation hasn't really improved but she has seen her dad more this year than her own mother and her mother only lives 2 miles away from her. My granddaughter's bike is really great for her but she only can ride if I take her out.

My granddaughter loves riding the Dismal Swamp trails, in both VA and NC. The state park in NC has even more trails then what we rode last fall. However, my bike won't handle the dirt trails. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my comfort bike but it doesn't do well on some of the trails we were riding last year and we were riding paved trails. So, I decided last fall, I needed a second bike, a mountain bike.

My son will be arriving by train. Since I'm the one who buys his train tickets (dang, I still work to pay for train tickets) and Amtrak prices have almost doubled in the past 6 weeks, I'm not paying extra for him to bring his bike. Besides, he can't get it transported to the train station. I guess it's time for me to get my second bike. I'll figure out where I store the second bike, later. I already have one that has taken residence in my living room.

I want an inexpensive mountain bike for women. I'm not sure what I should be looking for. I really don't want to go to a local bike shop. If I do, that will just double my costs and right now, I really do need to get serious about saving for retirement. I'm a little smarter in the feel of the bike, for the fit. It's not like I've got 20 years that I haven't been on a bike. So, I'm thinking of just getting a 'box bike". My son can tune up the bike. But my question is, what is the difference between the steel frame versus the aluminum frame? The Schwinn bikes are within my price range as long as I'm careful. Are they fairly decent? What other brands should I be looking at?

OK, I think I figured out where to go and what questions to ask. Gonna go take a drive and checkout some Diamondback hybrids.

From how you described yourself and riding, there will be little differene between steel and aluminum. Steel will be a little heavier and probably a little less expensive. Best of luck to you. I'm glad your son will be spending more time with his daughter. That's important.

Any given weekend there will be dozens of listings on Craigslist for used mountain bikes. If you get one, make sure the drivetrain is in good shape. I bought a used Gary Fisher cheap only to have to replace the cassette and chain in short order, which was not cheap. Good luck.

I would also suggest a cross type bike as oppposed to a mtn bike. You don't want suspension if you are staying on roads. It's just going to add more weight for no good reason. Alum will be a bit lighter but really no big deal. I would suggest a Mixte type frame bike if you can find one in your price range. Real "comfort" bikes are typically really, really heavy. I know nothing about current Schwinn but I see that a local box store, maybe Sports Authority...carries some decent DiamondBack bikes. Some of which are pretty decent. In my opinion, looking at entrylevel bikes, I think a decent bikes start at around $600. Those that I've seen under that price range are bike I would not personally recommend to anyone who is actually riding regularly. If you're only going to go on 5mi rides once a month, virtually anything that moves will be OK.
Mtn bike shocks really only come into play when they hit something pretty good sized. They aren't going to help with a flat dirt road. A hybrid with wide tires would be lighter and work just as well unless you are climbing serious hills that require really low gears that might not be there on a hybrid.

Thanks, guys. I took a drive to Dick's Sporting Goods and came home with a Nishiki Pueblo. There are some major differences between the Nishiki and the Giant. That Giant Sedona should not have given me problems last year like it did. When I bought the Sedona, I was assured it would do well on paved AND light loose gravel. Well, the bike really doesn't even do well going around to the back of the house, thru my yard. When we were at the Dismal Swamp State Park, they told me my bike would not do well on the trails and I would need a mountain bike. OK, I just bought the mountain bike even though the guy wanted me in a "comfort" bike. I tried the Diamondback hybrid mountain bike and rode like a dream. I just didn't want to pay that kind of money, especially for a bike with similar tires as the Sedona. I tried a BMX mountain bike and will be limping probably for the rest of the day. He said it was an entry level mountain bike. I said it was too cheap. Dang, I pulled a muscle in my calf on that bike. Once we worked out the bike frame issue, I settled for the Nishiki. Honestly, there are only two things that are different than the Sedona and I think it's just a major factor, for me. The tires are just as wide but just a little more knobby. Not really enough to make a major difference on the pavement but maybe enough on the uneven surfaces. It's the frame that's the major difference. My Sedona is a "small" frame. The Nishiki is a 15 inch frame. It took awhile to figure out where the seat post was perfect for me and I was back to riding much more comfortably. I tried the 17 inch Nishiki and just couldn't get it to feel right. I remember I had the same issue with the Trek last year. As I was driving my 48 miles home, I realized, this Nishiki actually sat on the bike carrier, differently. So, doing what I do best when I drive (dang I can solve the world problems while driving), I realized, this new bike would fit in the trunk of my car, as long as I don't put a handle grip mirror on it. When I got home, I put this bike next to the Sedona. There is a major difference in the size of the frame. My Sedona is NOT a 15 inch frame! It's bigger than that. Oh well, I resolved my bike issue and will be able to take my granddaughter on different types of trails. My son will be able to ride while he is here, since he can use my Sedona. Me, I just need to stop being lazy and get my butt back on that saddle.

OK, just so I know...*WTF* is a "BMX mountain bike"? As a fanatic mountain biker for 13 years, I have NEVER seen what you are talking about. All the BMX bikes I've ever seen have 6" riser bars and PEGS, and are singlespeed.

For all that, though, I'm glad you: a.)found a bike that works for you; and b.) found a Dick's that actually builds decently.

Pegs? Shocks? Lucky! Have you taken it off any sweet jumps?

BMX was the dang brand name of the bike. And, it was a piece of **&&. As far as anything else about that bike, I couldn't tell you. The minute I pulled a muscle, I was off of it and said absolutely "no". It was cheap, the gears made funny noises and I had to ask to have the chain actually put on the bike. All that was before I pulled the muscle, which is something I have never experienced on a bike before. As far as Dick's goes, they spent even more time working on the bike that I did buy, than the bike shop I got my bike from, last year. I watched the guy and he did the same checks as the bike shop that I use. I thought I did well, considering, I was initially planning on going to Wal-Mart or Target, which I glad I did because my local Wal-Mart and Target were sold out of hybrids. I was just into Target last week and had walked past the bikes and their shelves were full. Must be a special on bikes in my area.