Street Bicycles

What is a Good Street Bicycle for a Middle Aged Woman?

My sister delegated this task to me, to find her a bicycle (NOT motorcycle) that would allow her to ride with her new beau, who enjoys biking around town.

Not a mountain or racing bike. With regular, high handlebars, not the low slung racing ones.

Not too expensive, either. Heck, summer's almost over! (I always rate the Best Answer, unless nothing of value comes in)
I should have maybe asked for a brand name and model number!

Well, you have pretty much narrowed it down to either a hybrid style or flat-bar road bike. It's hard to make a specific recommendation without knowing her budget, as there are so many different bikes out there that she may be perfectly happy with. Also, not all models or brands of bikes are readily available in all areas.

That said, for a middle aged woman, if she plans to do slow riding on the street, maybe ride to the store a few blocks away, cruise around the local park or neighborhood, and is not looking to do fitness riding, check out hybrids with a good selection of gears. For example, the Trek Navigator has high handlebars that allow the rider to sit upright, has a big cushy saddle, and wide tires for a softer ride, and a full range of gears. I see lots of people riding this style around town where I live, even commuting on them.

Now, if she's a little more athletic and is looking for something she can do some miles on, take a look at the "fitness" style bikes. Trek has the FX series, Specialized makes the Cirrus, and Giant makes the FCR series (there are others, these are just major brands that are easy to find at bike shops). This style bike has a mountain type frame with straight handle bars, but has a narrower road tire that allows for faster riding, but still allows for the occasional foray onto unpaved but smooth paths.

All of the bikes I've mentioned come in a variety of price ranges, so your sister really needs to go try a few models and see what she likes. Having someone else pick out a bike for you is about as easy as picking out shoes, so she really needs to go ride them herself and make her own decision.

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