<p>I have been looking for a bike. It occurred to me that some of you might have some ideas. Looking for a comfortable step through bike to ride mostly on trails around town. We have a great parkway system here that goes for miles and miles. But would like it to versatile enough to ride on the occasional gravel road, or climb a hill. Any suggestions? </p>
<p>If you’re willing to spend a lot, the Rivendell Betty Foy would be exactly what you want. The step through frame means you can ride around town in a skirt, but those Rivendells climb and descend well, and perform flawlessly on dirt roads. You can even take a Betty on dirt trails if they’re not too technical.</p>
<p>Consider your local bike shop. They should have a variety of bikes for you to try, and will help you find the right size (height) bike. They will likely have a few price points to choose from. You might try several bike shops, taking a few different bikes for a test spin. </p>
<p>Plus the Rivendell Betty Foy is absolutely gorgeous.</p>
<p>Anything Rivendell is a thing of beauty.</p>
<p>I have an Electra Townie. It has gears and a very upright way of sitting. It also has an old fashioned girl style step through stem, so you could wear a skirt on it. The pedals are low enough you can easily put your feet down to stop or when you stop. It wasn’t expensive. </p>
<p>Lots of bikes like this out there: <a href=“http://www.westernbikeworks.com/product/bianchi-2014-womens-milano-dama-city-bike”>http://www.westernbikeworks.com/product/bianchi-2014-womens-milano-dama-city-bike</a> </p>
<p>There are two ways to approach this. The first is to buy a cheaper bike (under $500) from someplace like REI that you find fairly comfortable to ride–and plan to replace it if you end up doing a lot of riding. Or you can spend more and buy something like the Rivendell (gorgeous bikes that will last forever) that will work and you may enjoy riding more so that you do more from the beginning… If you KNOW you’re going to ride most days and ride an hour or more every time, my advice would be to start with the good bike. (Five years after I starting riding again (at 54)–I rode a lot in my twenties, when I bicycled to work–I am getting my third bike, and they just get better every time.)</p>
<p>Depending on endurance and constitution of the rider you might consider an hybrid (electric) trail bike. I purchased a quality brand regular bike for my mom’s retirement, and it got nominal use because of health and strength issues. </p>
<p>We have a dedicated city bike shop in Seattle. I’m still mainly on my racing bikes, but these are starting to make a lot more sense.</p>
<p>Here’s my favorite: <a href=“http://www.dutchbikeseattle.com/bicycles-for-sale/brands/gazelle/gazelle-chamonix-pure-lady”>http://www.dutchbikeseattle.com/bicycles-for-sale/brands/gazelle/gazelle-chamonix-pure-lady</a></p>
<p>I was going to go to TRA cause I have a couple REI bikes to sell.
I thought the Dutch bike shop was electric though, but maybe that’s across the street?</p>
<p>EK4 - Dutch Bike Shop is not a great place, but I thought it was cool that they weren’t catering to either racers or mountain bikes and they sell coffee. It just happens to be next to one of Seattle’s local gems - the Walrus and the Carpenter restaurant. </p>
<p>Anyway, Gazelle is one of the main brands in the Netherlands and one of their bikes can be used for generations.</p>
<p>The Dutch-style bikes are nice to ride… if you don’t have a lot of hills to deal with. The Netherlands are pretty flat (to say the least), and their bikes reflect that. I live on a hill and it would take me hours to get a fifty-pound bike up that hill–I like my “granny gear” and use it often. The three speeds the Gazelle offers would mean I had to walk the last mile home every time.</p>
<p>I’ve test driven a couple of moderately priced bicycles – And kind of liked one called the Jamis Hudson Sport (Women’s). It felt very stable. I want to try a couple higher end ones to see how they compare. I think I would like to try the Betty Foy, if I can find one to try – just because . . . It is so pretty. There is also one called Pilen Lyx, that might be interesting. The area around here is flat, and I don’t plan on riding int he mountains anytime soon, but I would like to be able to ride up and down moderate hills, should I have the opportunity – there are some hilly areas around.</p>
<p>mstee, if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can go to Rivendell and test ride a Betty. If not, PM me. I’m on a Rivendell owners mailing list and might be able to set you up with a Betty owner who would let you try her bike.</p>
<p>The Electra Townie, and bikes like it, are a terrific kind of bike for tootling around town. They’re upright, and you can put your foot down easily. But the very aspects that make that bike good for casual riding would make it less than ideal on hills or gravel. With all the weight far back, I think the front wheel would want to wander on uphills, and I don’t think the bike would descend well.</p>
<p>I still have my Jamis from my college days (I’m in my mid-40s). I haven’t checked out their newer bikes though- not sure if their quality has changed over the years.</p>
<p>We have a rivendell too- and we are the second owner. Great bike.</p>
<p>I am going to second Lizardly’s suggestion of an Electra Townie. There are others that are step thru that are good, but Electra was the pioneer of the step thru technology. Biria is a German designed bike which is good , but a lot of what they make are steel framed and heavy…aluminum is a great way to go. Also, Fuji makes a great bike called a Barnaby…very versatile in terms of who they are designed to accommodate. Dutch bikes are designed for the avg heights of Europeans. Women oever there tend to have longer legs and inseams than avg Americans.
My husband and I are in the bike business so used to dealing with lots of customers and making them happy…feel free to pm me </p>
<p>Just the other day I was saying I wanted to get a bike–but a good old fashioned one, with balloon tires and no gears and foot brakes instead of handbrakes ( I have arthritis in my hands). Do they even make these any more?</p>
<p>I purchased a step through bike from Public Bike (their C7i) last summer and have been very happy with it. They are San Francisco based but ship all over. Their customer service was good. I upgraded the seat and the handle bars so that I could sit in a more upright position, hoping that it would protect my back a bit. She is a bright red beauty with a basket and with seven speeds has enough going on for my riding needs.</p>
<p>I did some research and while I loved some of the imports I was not ready to spend a fortune on a touring bike until I knew how much I was going to ride it. Public was a great compromise. <a href=“http://publicbikes.com”>http://publicbikes.com</a></p>
<p>I really like the looks of the Electra Townie!</p>
<p>lje62, a crank-forward bike for riding on hills and gravel? </p>
<p>CF–you thinking about riding a gravel grinder? Everyone I know uses a cyclocross bike… but I think that’s because they already HAVE a cyclocross bike.</p>