[jim brewer]

I need to find a bike for my wife. Steel frame, front suspension fork. Not expensive, but not a piece of junk. Comfortable wide saddle Like the Giant Boulder she used to have. Not aluminum, not full suspension. Seems the Boulder is hard to find, available at a few select dealers not in our area.

She's in no way a serious bicyclist and never will be, so it has to be a middle class bike.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kernyl]

Where is she going to ride it?

The Jamis Dragon Sport is a reasonably priced hardtail mtn bike.
JAMIS BIKES

 

[jim brewer]

Strictly on the street. I kind of like Jamis bikes, and encouraged her to look there. Local dealer is a very low volume place, with no more than a few jamis bikes at any given time. She is very particular and can't buy sight unseen. Perhaps a bigger dealer can be found in the big city.

 

[RJP Diver]

Bike for wife

Congrats, sounds like an excellent trade!

 

[mariomal99]

my advice is to buy something you like and can see yourself using.....hint(carbon) cause it might end up being your bike lol

 

[Rokh On]

Have her check out the Diamondback Edgewood Sport. Less than $400. The one problem though is that it is not steel. It's 6061-T6 Aluminum. Do you have an REI close by?

 

[jim brewer]

Yeah, we do. I made the mistake of mentioning that steel is more comfortable than aluminum, so now its Katy bar the door, although she would never have noticed otherwise.

 

[Kernyl]

Strictly on the street. I kind of like Jamis bikes, and encouraged her to look there. Local dealer is a very low volume place, with no more than a few jamis bikes at any given time. She is very particular and can't buy sight unseen. Perhaps a bigger dealer can be found in the big city.

I think you're going to have a tough time finding the combination of what you want (steel, front suspension) unless you go with a mountain bike, but that's a bit overkill for what she's going to do with it. See if you can talk her out of one or the other...

 

[jpaschal01]

guessing she wants the front suspension fork for comfort also?
We just ordered my wife a new bike and were looking for both comfort and speed. We ended up ordering a Cannondale Women's Quick 3 - aluminum frame, flat bar, carbon fork. She was concerned with staying up with me and our son on family rides, so she wanted to go lighter instead of more comfortable. I'm thinking the carbon fork will help soak up some of the road noise that she would have gotten on a cheaper bike with aluminum fork. And cheap suspension forks are usually heavy and not very good anyway.

 

[aureliajulia]

If she is riding on the road, the suspension fork won't be more comfortable, as she will lose power-transfer.

How about a plum-colored Surly Troll?

Have to agree with getting steel. The Troll is a great adventure bike. Might be perfect for her needs.

If you've never seen one, Surly bikes are much better looking in person than on the internet.