Women's heavy cruiser bikes: ever recommended them?

[OakLeaf]

I weighed my hybrid this morning, just for grins, before heading out to the farmers' market. I underestimated: it was 41#, the rear tire felt low, and even with a full compost bin on the way out and full grocery bags on the way back, it still felt quite a bit lighter than the share bike (which looks pretty much the same as the bikes in other cities that I've seen but haven't ridden).

I have a feeling the extra weight is mostly in the share bikes' wheels. Stands to reason they'd be super bulletproof - not that the wheels on my hybrid aren't, but a friend of DH's did trash one of the wheels on his similar hybrid, jumping curbs we assume, and I expect they want share bikes' wheels to be able to stand up to that and worse. Not least because the front wheel has to be at least more or less true to go back into the docking station!

Can't remember how many internal gears Columbus' share bikes have, but at least three and maybe five. Not single-speed, anyway.



FWIW, it seems to me that the heavier the bike, the *less* it's affected by wind. Maybe it just seems more miserable when you're going more slowly overall ... You're obviously less aerodynamic in an upright riding position, but that's riding position and not weight. With more weight, you've got better momentum, and your profile to the wind isn't affected by weight. In crosswinds, you'll be way more stable. And FWIW, it seems to me that wherever you are, you get either hills or wind, not sure there's anywhere where there's neither. Hills are the reason that wind inland *isn't* as brutal as it is in flat coastal regions ...