<p>I know Terry makes bicycles that are meant to fit women. I only know one person who has one, but she loves it. </p>
<p>I’m not thinking of a gravel grinder-- I’m kind of skeptical of that category anyway-- but I think a crank forward bike would be ill-suited for gravel. </p>
<p>My friends who ride gravel ride their Rivendells, but that’s because the people I know who ride gravel have Rivendells. </p>
<p>Trek makes some nice ladies step through bikes and hybrid bikes for street and trail. You sit upright, adjustable handlebars to move towards you as well as up and down for height. </p>
<p>@ Cardinal Fang, still any townie. There are several models, and also the Fuji Barnaby 
wide tires and comfort all the way. We use the Fujis for our rentals ( they used to called Saratogas too ) and most people love them.
@ boysx3, Jamis is great company that puts out a great product. One of the things I love about them is they are a woman owned company, and very family oriented. We sell all of the bikes I mentioned and happen to believe in their products</p>
<p>I have a Specialized Cruiser style bike (same type of bike as the townie). I love my upright position, and the really comfortable ride. I loved that Townie, but got my specialized used for $200…and it was in pristine condition. </p>
<p>I would suggest going to a bike store and riding the bikes. Well worth doing!</p>
<p>lje, thank you so much for the recommendation. Now I know what to ask for as a birthday present. By any chance, are you in the DC area?</p>
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<p>Hold on here. Electra was founded in 1993. Step through bikes have been sold for over a hundred years.</p>
<p>The cruiser style bicycles have really come back into favor. The new ones are really nice, light weight, geared, more comfortable seats, etc. The Specialize I have retails for,the same cost as the Townie. The Townie was a tad more comfortable, but not enough difference for the type of riding I do to justify paying double the price. But I was lucky to find a one year old used bike.</p>
<p>It is a store through model. Most of the women’s cruiser style bikes are step through.
Agree with CF…this isn’t new!</p>
<p>thumper1 and others who are riding the Electra/Jamis/Specialized townies, what kind of riding are you doing? I got the impression that the OP was thinking of maybe moving up to 15-20 mile rides on trails and some gravel, with some hills. Not every town bike would be well suited to that sort of riding.</p>
<p>I’ve seen Betty Foys ridden around town, and I’ve also seen Betty Foys ridden on rolly nontechnical singletrack. That’s why I recommended one. But of course, Betty Foys are spendy!</p>
<p>I ride 12-15 mile trips on rail trails at least twice a week in nice weather. My bike is very similar to the Townie in frame and riding style. </p>
<p>The thing I really wanted was a more upright position. I had a perfectly good Raleigh bike, but I had to lean forward to ride it…not a comfy position for me. </p>
<p>Because I’m just a recreational bike rider, and not a particularly strong one, I decided to go for this Specialized. I just hit it lucky…really lucky…with the newness, and price!</p>
<p>The Townie would have been my pick. The one I was looking at was in the $500 or so range, and was turquoise. It was so nice! </p>
<p>I have a basket and a bell on mine…I love them both. </p>
<p>Baskets rock. Especially front baskets.</p>
<p>Yes, mine is a front basket. I went with a plastic looking white wicker with flowers on it. Very cute, and a lot more durable than the real wood wicker ones!</p>
<p>Here’s another stylish bike to check out, the Civia Twin City:
<a href=“http://civiacycles.com/bikes/twin_city_step_through_7_speed/”>http://civiacycles.com/bikes/twin_city_step_through_7_speed/</a>
The Twin City is available with an internal hub gear as shown above (easy to shift).</p>
<p>The Twin City is available as a single speed with a coaster brake, the kind of bike boysx3 wants:
<a href=“http://civiacycles.com/bikes/twin_city_step_through_single_speed/”>http://civiacycles.com/bikes/twin_city_step_through_single_speed/</a></p>
<p>The Twin City is also available with a rear derailer. Lots of options:
<a href=“http://civiacycles.com/bikes/”>http://civiacycles.com/bikes/</a></p>
<p>When I recommended the Betty Foy, I didn’t include a link. Here’s one:
<a href=“Rivendell Bicycle Works - Lugged Steel and Custom Bikes”>http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/f-foy.htm</a></p>
<p>Iquit rollerblading because of my age. I was always afraid to fall off the bike much more than rollerblading. So, I would choose “zero” bike for the older person. Cannot tell for others. </p>
<p>Miami. They make adult tricycles for folks like you.</p>
<p>Ooh, nice looking bike – that Civia Twin City. I definitely will add that to the list of bikes to test drive. Thanks for that. I know my profile probably says Bay Area still. I haven’t had the heart to change it. I still live there in my head (esp. in the winter). We moved a couple of years ago to Minneapolis – huge biking city, turns out. There are a gazillion bike stores here, just have been to a couple so far. I plan to take a little time with this purchase, since I may end up spending a fair amount, depending on what I find I like.</p>
<p>Hiawatha Cyclery is a Rivendell dealer and might be able to connect you with a local who has a Rivendell Betty Foy you can test ride. I’ve corresponded with Jim Thill of Hiawatha-- nice guy, knows a ton about bikes.</p>
<p>Hiawatha Cyclery
4301 E 54th St
Minneapolis, MN 55417
612-727-2565</p>
<p>Wow, I’m really against a front basket… I found that using mine for anything more than a cell phone and a water bottle made the front wheel unstable (and this was on a Surly Long Haul Trucker, which is a frame known for its stability)–that is, a little turn of my hands and the front wheel would twist hard. Our local grocery store is DOWN the hill, and going down to the store was easy–bringing a roast chicken and a half-gallon of milk home in the basket UP the hill? Not so much.</p>
<p>MsTee–have you considered renting a few different bikes so that you can test ride and see what you like over a period of a week of so? </p>
<p>I hadn’t thought of renting. The couple bike dealers I’ve gone to are more than happy to let the potential buyers take their bikes out for a longish test drive. But taking one home for a few days is something to think about. I did go on a couple of bike tours (short, easy, tourist things – on my Paris/Bruges excursion a couple of weeks ago), which gave me the idea that hmmmm, I think I can do this. Esp. if I get a bike I’m super comfortable with. And there are a ton of older folks on bikes here. Some fit looking, and some not at all fit looking. So that is inspiring. Honestly, I’ve never seen as many bike riders of all ages/types as there are here in Minneapolis. </p>
<p>Miami- you could carry a heck of a lot of donuts on that tricycle! </p>