A bike for a woman who has hardly cycled since childhood...

[slyandgobbo]

I have to be able to sit upright and I have to be able to "step through". Am pondering a Pashley but are they too stupidly retro? Has anyone else with similar needs got one they like? I would like to be able to stick a childseat on. tia

Oooh, can I ask what seat you have??

It's a Hamax Kiss, nothing exotic. DH and I both have a bracket for it on our bikes, his bike has got seat suspension as well. Mind you, here it says you can fit it on a bike with a luggage carrier, and I had to take the luggage rack off my bike to fit it on.

Thanks for the link. What part of your bike does it attach to then...We were having problems as we can't seem to attach to the seat post...I don't have a luggage rack.

I've got a Dawes Red Feather and I've always been very happy with it

You can just about see here that the bracket is mounted about as low down on the seat post as it can go. On a men's frame bike it'd be below the top tube, cos mine is a women's frame is above the top tube.

(you can also see that I have a REALLY flat rear tyre, oops)

Ooh, thanks for that. I will get DH to do some more homework now then .

I have this model of bike:

www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/2008/women/bike_path/navigator20equippedwsde/

which is perfect for me - recently started cycling again, got a Hamax baby seat on the back and feels really sturdy and stable. Remember crash helmets as well!

www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/2008/women/bike_path/navigator20equippedwsde/

That looks great!
Trek are a good bet. Lance Armstrong rides Trek you know .

Ooh good luck! I have not been on a bike since I was about 20 at university. That was the first time since I was a child. I collided with a high curb on a railway bridge and came off and hurt my arm and scraped my ribs. But then I did have have a lot too much gin on board

For my first bike in yonks I chose a cheap and cheerful Raleigh Tundra from Halfords, at discount to £149. My dh and I went out after dark when the neighbours hopefully were sleeping (rather than curtain twitching) and he ran next to me as I made my first uncertain round around the green.
But I soon got the hang of it.

It wasnt long before I went to Evans Cycles and got something 10 times more expensive. The downside is that I never take it to town, lock it up and leave it, but I am mostly off roading anyway, and have never had the kids with me. (they are on dhs bike)

My advice to you is to go for something cheap, as you will soon figure out what you actually need/want, and you wont know this till you have sat on a bike again.

Could be you need full suspension, could be you enjoy zooming through your local forest and need a proper mountain bike with the fat tires to go, could be you only cycle in traffic and need more of a city bike.

Good Luck!

I'd second the dawes recomendation. I had a gorgeous dawes road bike that was so comfortable and easy to ride I completely fell in love with it, even though I originally planned to buy a hybrid. It had a lovely squishy saddle, a very low step through frame and jsut glided along. I sold it once I found I was expecting twins and I really regret it.

But don't go too cheap as a crap bike might put you off. My friend has a crap bike and struggles on the hills and she is fitter than me I reckon. She doesn't use it any more.

I have a Dawes hybrid, it's a good compromise if you want to cycle on road and also on forest tracks. And it works well with a toddler seat.

I am quite a fan of not having too expensive or new a bike even though I cycle most days. I like to be able to leave it without worrying chained to bike racks including overnight at the station etc. I would buy a decent secondhand bike and then see how much you like it and whether you cycle enough to merit a new expensive one. It's easy to buy barely used secondhand bikes.

I think one that is worth about £250 but got in the sale or on ebay or second hand is the way to go for a starter.....