New Bike Rider

I have a friend who has expressed interest in getting a bike. She wants something to ride around her neighborhood - no Cindy rides for her. She's short in stature, and overweight. What do you all think - cruiser, hybrid, or comfort bike? We want to keep it under $600 :o . This may just be a passing phase, she's been trying to find something she likes doing to get back in shape, so she doesn't want to get anything too expensive. (I had to stop her from going to Target or WalMart for a bike......)

There are some gorgeous cruisers out there ...

But for a general-purpose bike, I'd get a hybrid. I had one throughout college; to be honest, I didn't ride it much, but it handled roads/cobblestone/grass etc just fine ... and it was only $150!

Mind, at the time, I thought that was an *awful* lot of money.

I was very non commital (sp) when I started out. I bought a comfort bike and LOVE it. but I got the bug and had to buy a road bike. Now the comfort is not quite right for road or trail so I want a MTN. But for rail to trail and around town with the family my comfort bike cannot be beat! So if you are pretty sure she won't move beyond paved path, easy enjoyable rides go with a comfort.

I also read an article about hybrid vs. MTN. It said that it is easier to convert a MTN (put on slicks) than to make a hybrid do MTN stuff. That made sense to me, so I am buying my boyfriend a MTN for his first new bike. shhhhh it's a secret!

I was poking around the Chain Reaction website and came across this page, could be helpful -

http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/trekgateway.htm