New to the forum and thought i would as a few questions. I am looking to buy my niece (14) a hybrid bike for fitness as well as communting to school. These are the bikes on my short list and any comments or help would be appreciated:

Cannondale quick 5 2011 egyptian blue. I was a cannondale guy when i used to ride alot and this is the brand/store i went to first.

Kona Dew Plus 2011
Giant Roam 1 2011
Giant Dash 3 2011
Specialized Vita
Trek 7.2 fx wsd

The cannondale does seem to be the leader thus far because of the comfort she talks about, however it has 0 stand over clearance for her and she is concerned about it. The Giant Roam has the step through but a heavier bike because of the suspension fork. The Dash was ruled out because of the small tires but i wish she would give it a chance. Vita and Trek are on the demo list for tomorrow. The Kona seemed to have the best components but i tried the big brother of this bike and it road really,really stiff and that concerns me for her sake, because i want/need to keep her involved and wanting to ride for her health.

The best shop in terms of service and freindliness also is the closest and around the block. However their bikes are limited to Giant, bianchi.

I guess my question would be this: do i go with the lighest bike, no suspension, best componets and probably the quickest bike in the Kona or go with the Giant Roam which is heavier, thicker tires and will be more draining on climbs but is very comfortable. Is the cannondale a happy medium? The goal here is to keep her wanting to ride and anything she deems hard she is likely to give up on.

Between those beauties, I'd go with either the Kona Dew Plus or the Trek 7.2FX

I would add the Woman's Raleigh Classic Roadster to that line-up, as well!

Though I'm not impressed with the front derailleurs on either, I'd tend to lean towards the rapid fire shifters on the Kona as opposed to the speed shifters on the Trek.

However, you know interceptor is right. Finding your nieces proper fit, is a priority to finding the most appropriate bicycle. Besides, she should be allowed to ride it and get the feel of it, after she is properly fitted. Take her around to a few of the local bike shops, so that she can see for herself.

I'll bet she'll even love you more just for that experience alone!

- Slim

Did she road test any of these bikes?
Maybe that will steer her to the bike
that's right for her.

She has been testing these bikes but trying to get her to express the experience is becoming quite the task. I want her to make an informed decision based on testing and then if there is a "tie" of sorts i would result to comments in here about experience and components.

Get her the one she thinks is the prettiest/coolest to ensure she will want to ride it the most. All of those bikes are nice bikes and honestly for a 14 year old, she couldn't go wrong with any of them. I will be jealous of her. If she is just getting into cycling she will hardly be able to tell the weight difference between the bikes anyway. If she has no preference on the look of the bike ( I find this hard to believe from a 14 year old girl) I would grab her the most comfortable and durable bike.

In that case, it's either the Kona or the Trek for certain!

- Slim

PS.

If undecided, just ask which one is the prettiest to her, as Fastbartender has already suggested.

This. All the bikes seem high quality enough. As you mentioned, she already ruled out the Dash because of the "small tires" - something I for instance wouldn't consider a bad thing. She has different priorities.

--J

If she likes the Cannondale Quick 5 but you like the shop around the corner that has Giant's, I think you looked at the wrong models. The Giant Escape is going to be most similar to the Quick (and the Vita as well I think). My wife has the Giant Roam and loves it, the suspension fork adds to the comfort and also allows for more off road options than others. My daughter is also 14 and she chose the Specialized Ariel, near as I can tell almost exclusively because of the black with hot pink accent color scheme. Because of that, I would echo what others have said about making sure she likes the aesthetics of whatever bike you settle on. It's more important than you might think. Certainly more important than I would have thought. Good luck!

She was originally drawn to the Cannondale because of that Egyptian blue color scheme. that's one of the reasons why i have introduced other bikes, hopefully that the color is scheme is a secondary reason for liking the bike and not the primary. However, i understand and appreciate where yall are coming from. She picked the Giant Roam 1 from the Giant shop because of the color scheme as well, so she is definetly picking bikes that look good, now im trying to find the bike among those she picked that actually benifits her fitness level and needs as well as bang for the buck.

today we are going to the trek dealership, some big superstore i didnt even know existed and if time, a Specialized shop to look at the vita and ariel.

I suppose it would be nice if we could decide on a brand we like together. Example, cannondale offers 7% off if you buy two bikes, 9% if you buy three, etc. I have forgotten to ask the other shops about this and if they have such a pricing strategy.

For the person who's wife bought the Giant roam: Was the step through frame a major selling factor for her? My niece seemed to feel more at ease on such a frame but still likes the comfort of the cannondale (actually a womans tall frame, because she liked be more stretched out than the small frame/upright) So, im asking myself, is the like of the cannondale because of the color only? Because these specific bikes couldnt be more different and she has 0 clearance room on the top tube with the cannondale.

I agree with fastbartender. Let her decide which one she wants. Also, the 0 clearance probably isn't a good idea.

I can understand why she'd like the Cannondale. I'm a female too, and out of the many, many hybrids I rode I chose the Quick 3. The Quicks are great bikes. They're well balanced, smooth, quick, and maneuverable. I could not get comfortable on the FX, either wsd or unisex. I think the issue with the Cannondale may be that she tried too large of a bike size. Cannondale only makes a wsd in small or large, for a medium you go to the unisex. I ride a wsd large, but I'm 5'7" with long legs, and you wouldn't want to be shorter on this size frame. How tall is your niece? 5'6" and under you'd more than likely need the medium. The great thing about the medium frame, besides it covering a pretty good height range, is that it's even more nimble and maneuverable than the large. If she is on the taller end of the medium frame size (5'5"-5'6"), make sure she gets the bike fitted to her. It can be extended pretty well so that she doesn't feel cramped. It's great that you're having her ride and choose what's right for her.

Another note - the Quick 4 would be faster, more like an FX. Perhaps easier for climbs, too. 2011 models should be discounted $100 or more.

The cannondale quick 5 she likes is the Tall version. We tried the small first but she likes the feel of being more spread out on the tall. and not so upright. The tall looks to fit just fine when riding, but the stand over clearance isnt there. She is 5'3. The small looked just that in all aspects.

I noticed this week that cannondale has a Cx quick in womens sizes/frames now. that might do the trick, but im not to fond of paying the 750 price tag.

Didnt make it to the specialized or trek dealer today. maybe this weekend. Called the jamis dealer and like usual around here, they didnt have the sport femme or the other femme model i was considering either.

Like I said, try the unisex (or men's) medium. She is way too short for the tall frame at 5'3", and yes, probably too tall for the women's small. Cannondale doen't make a wsd medium frame in the Quick because it's the same size as the men's. She could easily have the bike set up with more stretch, like a flat bar road bike. A few stem and seat adjustments is all it takes. That's how I had mine fitted. It's an easy fix.

My wife chose the 2012 Roam 1W, which actually is not really a step through, the top tube just has a low dip in it to make standover less of an issue. The Specialized Ariel looks similar. This is a new thing on the Roam 1W in 2012, but the Ariel has had that profile for a while. My wife is only 5'1" and went with the Small because she thought the XS was a little too small. My 14 year old chose the Ariel in XS because the S gave her no standover clearance at all (she's only 4'11"). I would echo those who say you should find one with some clearance for her. I would think the Cannondale would come in other sizes.

We tested the Trek, specialized ariel and specialized vita today. She ruled out the trek bikes rather quickly and seemed to like the ariel better than the vita. she claims to like the ariel over the giant roam (very very similiar bikes).

It looks like we are down to two bikes. Specialized Ariel vs. Cannondale quick 5.

Cannondale now offers a CX quick in womens that is very similiar to design to the ariel. MIGHT let her try that one even though its a couple hundred more but leaning against it.

Surprised the final two are down to a street oriented bike vs. a more hybrid bike. instead of a showdown between two bikes in the same category. then again, my niece changes her mind more than socks.

I think that's great, my preferences are for Cannondale and Specialized also. They are both pretty nice bikes for the money.
It sounds like she's finding her way through the bicycle-buying maze.
I have to ask - did she try a Quick in a medium (unisex) yet? She would be a lot more comfortable, and it fits someone up to about 5'5"-5'6".

She did try a boys medium but still felt comfortable on the Tall Quick 5. To me, she looks like a perfect fit while riding and she is pretty adamit that the cross bar wont be a problem. Cannondale doesnt have the new quick cx 2 in stock and claim they wont till march. so i guess i dodged a bullet and dont have to consider its 700 price tag.

After leaving specialized yesterday, and though she was going to with the Arial in white. However today she picked the Cannondale quick 5 in Egyptian Blue. good thing i put it on layaway when we started this ordeal or it would have been gone. Just had a feeling i guess.

Kind of glad the shopping is over, its been a real pain to find any of the bikes on our list, especially the bikes im interested in. Not a single bike on my list was in stock in the city and apparently all of them are special order bikes that require a non refundable deposit.

UGh.