Thanks, everybody! This tried-and-true input will be invaluable to my friend. Plus I have another friend who lives in the Vienna area who has been toying with the idea of getting a new bike. I'll pass along these suggestions to her too. I don't think she's bought a new one in at least 20 years......I'd love to see both of my pals out on bikes again. If they had the benefit of new, light(er) models and good gearing, I think they'd both fall in love with cycling (again).