Bob59

Hello,

First post on this site. My wife and I are very interested in getting back to biking - been a number of years since we owned bikes. We stay fit by doing cardio and weight training, but want to get out in the air on bikes - part time --- mainly weekends.

The brand we really like is the Electra --- and the Townie model. We tested the Original 7d, and 8i, but not the Balloon model. We did like the 7d and 8i.

We are going to ride on blacktop and at times a towpath that is smooth dirt, many people walk and bicycle ride on this towpath which is many miles alone a river.

as far as how long we will ride --- that could be a few hours at a time. We don't need speed, just enough to get a bit of a workout.

Can someone recommend if the Balloon tires are much better that the non-balloon tires for comfort/handling ? How about the difference between the 7d or 8i ---- would you recommend one over the other ? based on the three types mentioned --- would you recommend the balloon 8i, 7d, or 8i ?

Thanks,
Bob

tcs

You'll find very little difference among the two inch wide balloon tires not advertised as balloon tires on the 8i and 7d and the 2.35 inch wide balloon tires advertised as balloon tires on the 8i balloon.

So:
Do you want derailleur gears (7d) or an internal gear hub (8i, 8i Balloon)?
Do you want fenders (8i) or not (7d, 8i Balloon)?
Do you want rim brakes (8i, 7d) or hub brakes (8i Balloon)?
Do you want a suspension fork (8i) or rigid fork (7d, 8i Balloon)?

Me? FWIW, I'd get the 8i Balloon: For this type of bike I like the clean, low maintenance aspect of the internal gear hub and hub brakes, I could skip the fenders (particularly if I was riding on dirt that could be a little muddy and clog up between the fender and tire), with the big section tires the suspension fork isn't really needed, and IMO it looks coolest.

HTH,
tcs