reasonably light ladies hybrid pub / shop bike?

keef66
keef66 Posts: 13,123
edited October 2018 in Road buying advice
Out of the blue my wife has decided she'd like a bike! She's made it clear she'll never be wearing lycra or doing more than 10 miles at a time, but we can still pop down to the shops or out to a rural pub for a couple of drinks and / or lunch together. It'll keep us active in retirement.

I was quite excited till she said it has to have a step-through frame, which appears to radically reduce our choices.

The fact she's 60 next year, and we live halfway up a hill mean it needs gears and should be as light as possible. Oh, and it should accommodate a wicker basket on the front apparently.

She likes the classic look / colours of the Pendleton bikes in Halfords, but they don't feel very light to me.

Are we overlooking anything obvious?

Comments

  • trek_dan
    trek_dan Posts: 1,366
    Get her a Brompton
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    I did briefly consider a folder of some kind but she's not keen.

    I've always fancied a Brompton myself, for reasons I'm not entirely sure about.
  • peteco
    peteco Posts: 184
    How about an electric bike - it will massively increase her range, and make it more likely she will use it.
    The Pendleton bikes are very heavy.
    I bought my wife a folding Carrera Electric bike. The small size makes it less overwhelming, and the motor overcomes the weight comfortably.

    Pete
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    I did suggest exactly that when she was asking why the Pendletons suddenly jumped in price, and I pointed out the battery on the back. So far she seems to be lumping e-bikes with mobility scooters.

    Maybe I'll stick her on the steel singlespeed I've just bodged together, and see if she can make it up our hill. That might increase the appeal of an e-bike... :D
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,065
    https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/ ... -19-frames along with https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-a ... tery-black so she can do century rides with you.:)

    £850/250 respectively before BC discount (is it still 10% at Halfords after the recent changes?)

    Having said that, only a 2-year battery g'tee, or 500 charges. :shock:
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
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  • ridgeway_swiss
    ridgeway_swiss Posts: 146
    We went for a Cube Cross Hybrid One which is step through although a more universal male/female version. It’s also a discreet e-bike with a Bosch 400w drive system and for an e-bike it’s light.

    My wife loves it and uses it most days for popping around our village and exercising the dogs
  • big_harv
    big_harv Posts: 512
    My wife has a Raleigh step thru from Halfords. Also "we" have a Gary Fisher Tiberon (also a step thru) which now lives in France. Plenty of low gears but frankly they both weigh a ton. Not sure that's a major issue in the grand scheme of things. Now "helmet hair" however, better deal with that one pronto
  • Moonbiker
    Moonbiker Posts: 1,706
    They used to make decent steel 5 speed racer mixtes with single front chain ring that weren't to heavy.


    But now thoose kind of bikes are hideous boat anchors with triple chainsets & crappy disc brakes.
  • Moonbiker
    Moonbiker Posts: 1,706
    Bob jackson still making them:

    http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/produ ... ies-frame/
  • joe_totale-2
    joe_totale-2 Posts: 1,333
    Moonbiker wrote:
    Bob jackson still making them:

    http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/produ ... ies-frame/

    The trouble is that a frame as nice as that or a decent ebike won't last long locked outside a shop or the pub.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,865
    I bought my wife one of these for £35 off the Bay, when I picked it up it looked like it had never been ridden but stashed in the back of a shed.
    $_86.JPG
    I was going to change the bars for something more upright she was happier with and make it suit her. She didn't like it and wouldn't even entertain it. I ended up buying her a Ridgeback Tradition.
    1.472286ridgebacktraditionsage.jpg
    Ali framed thing, so not as heavy as a Pendleton but still sit up and with a basket. She's happy, but the other one could have been so much nicer. :|
    Kinesis Pro6
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  • peteco
    peteco Posts: 184
    See if she can borrow or loan an electric bike for a day - this could help her decide.

    Pete
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    +1 for the electric option. Pedalling one of those basket bikes up your hill could turn her off cycling altogether.

    And the Brompton for yourself is only fair isn't it ? My wife is not a cyclist but since I got her a Brompton she's very happy to go for a ride on hers - but we have to drive to somewhere cyclist friendly. Small steps...
  • Moonbiker
    Moonbiker Posts: 1,706
    Seems light decent spec step through don't exist anymore.

    Lowest gearing on the rigdeback is 42/28 not ideal for any hill for a 15kg bike to encourage a new cyclist.

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