So I've been trying to convince my friend to buy a bike so she can ride with me. She insists she A) doesn't want one, and B) must have coaster brakes if she gets one. (Mixed message, much?)
Her only experience on a bike since she was a kid was a few years ago when she borrowed a road bike from a friend and did an endo, trying to use hand brakes for the first time. That's all it took for her to decide she was 'too old to learn new tricks,' etc.
And of course I've had a few spills and she knows that, so that probably doesn't reassure her any.
So here's my question. She is more comfortable with the idea of getting something like this:
http://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?...=15&itemid=326
And they have one (or a similar one -- it's a Raliegh and looks like that) at my LBS. It's only around $300 so I think I might could convince her to get it. But my question is, if she gets it, will we be able to ride comfortably together or will I be having to fight to go slow enough on my hybrid? I'm assuming it's so heavy and clunky that won't be an issue, but I thought I'd ask.
Would I be better off continuing to work on her re: getting a more normal bike, if I want us to be able to ride together?

