Used bike recommendation - ladies cruiser or hybrid

[bbyrd]

Hi all
I've been tasked with finding a new (used) bike for my wife (she currently has an old, heavy, ladies Giant mountain bike). She'd like a light weight (aluminium frame) ladies 'classic cruiser' style bike, but could be convinced of a light weight ladies hybrid.

Her friend has a Pedal Uptown DLX which she (my wife) quite likes, so have been looking at those (and some similar Reid bikes) on Facebook marketplace and Gumtree for $150 to $200, but I'd prefer something a bit better quality.

I'd prefer to stay under $200, but could stretch a bit for something considerably better. Some options I'm finding include:
Giant Simple 3 ($195): https://tinyurl.com/n4b7djy
Giant Cypress: ($250): https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 918624977/
Or ($150): https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 476419207/
Apollo Shoreline ($160): https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 628577127/
Merida City 3.0 ($300): https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 722961088/

Any thoughts, or other recommendations?

She generally just uses it for fairly flat social and family bike rides, but does sometimes cover 20+ km. Thanks!

[blizzard]

Obligatory, I would avoid anything with a suspension fork. They really don't add anything but weight at this price and style of bike.

My wife has a pedal cruiser and it's perfectly fine for casual rides. The single chain ring and tourney setup shifts well enough, the brakes are the worst part of the bike but fine for general riding. The best bike is the one you want to ride and if the Pedal is the one that appeals to the wife I would go for it.

[Andy01]

I will post a differing view on the suspension forks.

I have had a couple of cheaper MTBs with 100mm travel spring-only forks and no lockouts over the last 15 or so years but because they didn't have a lockout option it was difficult to gauge the difference the suspension makes.

I got my new Giant Roam 1 a few months ago and it has air suspension forks and lockout. I have tried my regular ride with and without the suspension active. For my riding (a fitness ride on roads and footpaths mainly with some short gravel tracks and a mostly dry creek bed) I did not notice a difference in "performance/speed" (I do notice movement in the forks when I am really pumping hard at high cadence in a low gear up a hill, like accelarating away from a stop, but this doesn't happen often) but I did notice a difference in comfort. The suspension definitely takes the edge off the bumps, especially when dropping off kerbs etc. I am aware that air forks are obviously better than the cheap spring forks but my Giant's air forks are only 63mm travel so fairly limited (not like XC MTBs with 120-140mm air forks), so probably not too different in feel from 100mm spring forks.

IMO front suspension forks would not be a good thing for anyone wanting good performance (setting Strava KOMs etc) or doing particularly long or strenuous rides (where carrying the extra weight is a disadvantage), but for someone doing casual/social family rides and wanting a bit of comfort doing it, the suspension does, IMO, make the ride a bit less jarring and more comfortable.

For the intended use described by the OP (ie. not riding against a clock or long/hard rides), I would think that forks (perhaps not 35-60mm travel spring-only forks, which don't do much) are not going to affect the "performance" of the bike, but they may well make the ride a little more comfortable.

[Nobody]

I would tend to steer clear of cheap suspension forks in the really cheap end of the market, simply because the limited funds can be spent better elsewhere on a bike.

How the ride feels is muti-factorial as it comes down to terrain, speed, riding style, riding position, saddle type, how big the tyres are and what pressures people are willing to run in them. These are going to be secondhand cheap forks, so not in the best condition and something else to go wrong IMO. I've had to deal with some on second hand bikes I've bought over the years and I usually replace them with rigid forks if it's not going to cost too much, or be too difficult to change. Most of the bikes in the category are going to have 38mm tyres, so big enough for road and bike paths with a rigid fork depending on the other factors mentioned. If the ride is uncomfortable, maybe start with taking some air out of the tyres.

My current MTB is rigid and I take it on fire trails and to a mild MTB bike park. The bike came with a cheap suspension fork but I binned it for a Surly 1 X 1 rigid fork.

[bbyrd]

Thanks all, ended up picking up a Avanti Discovery (with front suspension, so a little heavier than ideal, but maybe a little extra comfort) for $100.