Good bikes for beginners?
 

for me: http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bik/611695882.html

and for her:

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bik/618657229.html

If they fit, they might not be a bad deal. The Nishiki was a fairly low end bike when it was new about 30 years ago. If you are not sure she is going to get into riding and you are just trying to get brownie points, it would be okay. It is really more suited for duty as a commuter. I imagine it will be pretty heavy.

Fuji
 

I don't have any direct experience with Nishiki. However, with the Fuji, I was recently contemplating getting a Fuji, but ended up deciding against it. Because even though Fuji's are good bikes they're not recognized as such. If that doesn't bother you then by all means get the bikes, however resale values and trade-in values will be lower than a comparable Trek or Giant.

Fuji makes great bikes...

What are you talking about?

Disregard this. The resale of that Fuji Ace should be nowhere on your list of priorities.
Also this notion that "Fuji's are not recognized as good bikes" is an empty, incorrect generalization.
I'm assuming you would already disregard that.

I have no experience with either model, the Nishiki for $90 though seems uninspiring.
What with the stem shifters an unknown age... meh. It's advertised as ready to ride tough: good.
I bought a '90 Schwinn traveler with aero hoods SIS downtube shifters ready to go for $100.

Fuji
That bike is getting toward the large side. What's yo size?
I can't remember from the last overgrown post.
It's a big relaxed looking ride with triple sora. If you have any racer ambitions, it's not the bike for you, but otherwise seems okay. Fork material??

Again, make fit a priority.

What the hell are you talking about?

I am 6'2 so i was thinking either between that Fuji which is posted as 59cm or this Lemans:

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/615926547.html

which is 57cm

ok people, you don't have to stone me to death! I'm not saying that Fuji's are bad, they are very good bikes, but like I said, it is not as recognized as Trek or Giant or C'dales. A lot of people refuse to buy Fujis because it's name is representative of asian countries and people are turned off by it, that's all i'm saying, not that fujis are bad!!

Giants and Treks are actually BUILT in the far east

I know that, everything is, I'm talking about names, why do you think the majority of Americans will not buy a Toyota Tundra or Tacoma in place of a Dodge Ram when they're both built here in the states? Even though the Toyota's are superior people don't like the fact that it's a Japanese car, got it?

you really have no idea what you're talking about.

I used to work in the bike shop, trust me people don't want to buy a japanese bike. But like i said earlier if reselling is not in the near future with you and you do like the bike then get it!

With this in mind, my business model for "GoUSAGeorgeWBushIsTheGreatestManEverMissionAccomplishedLiberty Cycles" should do great.

I think the Fuji is over priced. You could easily get alot newer bike for $300. The other bike, well at $90 what can you expect. You could easily spend $200 getting it road worthy. Just depends.

The Fuji looks alright. I would pass of the Nishiki however. Chances are with it's age, it's not in wonderful shape, and you may have to put some money into it.

Let me add two more comments.

1. If looking used, you need to have an idea of size that you need and to understand components, differences in frame design, differences in brands, etc. I bought used but spent at least a month of research (alot on thi forum) into road bikes to understand frames, components, sizes, etc.

2. It looks like you want something right now. If buying used, you are going to have to be patient and then be ready to pull the trigger quickly because the good deals don't last long. I found that often, the good deals lasted less than 24 hours on CL and sometimes no more than a few hours. I spent over a month looking on CL before I found a good deal and I only found it because it was a listing that fell between the cracks due to how it was listed.