So the wife has got jealous of me disappearing off on the bike for hours on end and has decided she'd like to come along too. Fantastic result as far as I'm concerned, but now we have to find her a bike.
Several years ago she bought a £70 BSO which has since become a clothes-horse for drying oily rags on in the garage. Incredibly uncomfortable for her and just generally not a fun experience.
In Amsterdam she rented and loved one of those big "sit up and beg" town bikes - wide seat, Sturmey Archer gears - kind of like a Pashley Princess. That's what she is thinking of at the moment.
She's never going to be into road racing, comfort is pretty high up the agenda so comfortable seat, not too much weight on the wrists etc. The aim is to say ride 10 miles to a nice pub along country lanes then back again, maybe days out on cycle paths through the forest etc.
I reckon the Pashley or equivalent is going to be really comfortable on a test ride, but after an hour is going to seem big and heavy and am concerned about the lack of gears - its pretty flat here but it would be good to make the pedalling as easy as possible. Great town bikes maybe but not so good for longer rides. Obviously we'll go to a bike shop and test things out, but at the moment I'd have no idea what to even try. I'm also concerned about "comfy on a test ride but no good after a couple of hours" factor. Anyone any ideas? Budget would be around £500-£600.
Several years ago she bought a £70 BSO which has since become a clothes-horse for drying oily rags on in the garage. Incredibly uncomfortable for her and just generally not a fun experience.
In Amsterdam she rented and loved one of those big "sit up and beg" town bikes - wide seat, Sturmey Archer gears - kind of like a Pashley Princess. That's what she is thinking of at the moment.
She's never going to be into road racing, comfort is pretty high up the agenda so comfortable seat, not too much weight on the wrists etc. The aim is to say ride 10 miles to a nice pub along country lanes then back again, maybe days out on cycle paths through the forest etc.
I reckon the Pashley or equivalent is going to be really comfortable on a test ride, but after an hour is going to seem big and heavy and am concerned about the lack of gears - its pretty flat here but it would be good to make the pedalling as easy as possible. Great town bikes maybe but not so good for longer rides. Obviously we'll go to a bike shop and test things out, but at the moment I'd have no idea what to even try. I'm also concerned about "comfy on a test ride but no good after a couple of hours" factor. Anyone any ideas? Budget would be around £500-£600.