Bike recommendations for a mature newbie female

[Trek420]

Veronica "A custom Riv. "

We laugh but I'm starting to see the point of Riv. There were a few on ALC4 (saw just 1 last year). About day 5 I caught up with on at lunch saw the Riv rider chatting with a group of gals who were all complaining "my ___ hurts, my ___ hurts, my ____...."

She just smiled and said "I feel fine", hopped on her bike, rode off....disgusting.

My vote is for steel, a nice Mondonico or Torelli or maybe Surly Long Haul Trucker.

Here are some purty steel bikes from the ride including mine. I should have styled the photos and taken the plastic off but the plastic bags on the seats are for dew, and the bags on the top tube are for the ride numbers, oh well. I think you can see that the set up on mine is a little more upright than most. Very comfy on the back.

[jobob]

Check out the Riv Rambouillet. It now comes in 50 and 52 cm frame sizes - these take 26" tires instead of 700c

http://www.rivbike.com/html/bikes_ra...letframes.html

There's nothing wrong with the Saluki, except for the wait time! Although I think they might have some of the smaller frames still in stock, but they have to be painted, and currently one person is doing essentially all of the Saluki paint jobs.

[SadieKate]

I'm just not sure she's ready for a $2,300 bike. Who knows, maybe she'll decide that it's so drop-dead gorgeous that it's the one, but . . .

[bikerz]

Sounds like you're co-worker is similar to me - I have alot of weight to lose, and I'm 40 pounds along the way now (thanks to 6 months of biking, mainly!) And I'm about 5'2"", so not very tall either.

When I went shopping for a bike, I was very nervous and self-conscious about the process - imaging skinny-minny, super-cyclist kids not really taking me seriously. I decided I would buy from the store where I was treated the best, and go with the recommendations they gave me, since I didn't know much about bikes at all. I was concerned (perhaps unreasonably) about the bike feeling stable under my weight.

Anyway, Mikes Bikes in Berkeley was great - the sales person named Meghan was very helpful, supportive, gave good advice, and did a good job fitting me. She recommended, and I bought, a Specialized Sequoia Elite - about $1100. It has a suspension seat post and carbon forks, which I was told would help absorb bumps that we heavier riders will feel more deeply. The bike might be a bit heavy - but not compared to me!

I figured if I really stuck with cycling (which looks like the case) I'd probably upgrade eventually anyway, and after losing weight and getting stronger, I might be more comfortable on a different kind of bike, or be ready to appreciate and take advantage of a lighter bike, and certainly be in a better position to know my riding style, different components, etc.

Just my (long-winded!) 2 cents worth. Your friend is fortunate to have your help!