Girls Bike for hilly Brisbane.

[ccrider]

She has an old style cruiser that doesn’t cope with hills.
14yo about 5ft 9in tall.

Any suggestions please?

[Andy01]

Maybe a bit more info about usage & budget ?

Just casual recreational riding on paths and a bit of road around the suburbs (maybe school commute ?) or more serious road riding ?

Cruiser-type, road bike (straight or drop bar), or MTB, or a hybrid ?

Budget ?

In general, kids and particularly girls tend to be more focused on the "look" of the bike rather than the specs, so finding something that she likes is more important than finding a nice bike that has all the desired technical specs.

In general terms most hardtail mountain bikes (MTB) or hybrids will have at least 18 (2x 9) gears and any of them would be geared low enough for most hills in Brisbane. I am not into road bikes, but I think a lot of them would cope as well. So the choice of bikes that could handle hills is vast - probably anything from a $300 KMart BSO (bicycle shaped object - which I would not recommend) to a $6000 carbon fibre road bike.

As regards size, at 5ft 9, she is definitely into ladies, not girls bikes. My wife is 5ft 6 and rides a Medium sized Liv (Liv = ladies Giant) MTB, so I would guess probably a Large sized ladies bike, but obviously the size depends on a proper fit at a bike shop.

I would suggest that in Brisbane, your best options are possibly a 99Bikes (which there are several) or a Giant (which have a few stores around) - there are a few Trek shops as well. Again depends on where in Brisbane and what your budget is. Be aware that discount vouchers are available with free membership of Cycling Brisbane (I think 20% off at 99Bikes and 10% off at Giant - from memory). There are also a few stores having Black Friday sales right now.

[elantra]

Also don’t forget Epic Cycles. They usually have a great range of geared bicycles of all genres in stock.
It’s in Milton, quite possibly the spiritual centre of Brisbane, close to cultural icons like the XXXX Brewery and Lang Park/ Suncorp Stadium etc.

[ccrider]

a few Trek shops as well. Again depends on where in Brisbane and what your budget is. Be aware that discount vouchers are available with free membership of Cycling Brisbane (I think 20% off at 99Bikes and 10% off at Giant - from memory). There are also a few stores having Black Friday sales right now.
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Thanks so much Andy and others. I passed reply on to her mum. They do go to 99bikes so thanks for the tip about a discount.
C

[Mububban]

a few Trek shops as well. Again depends on where in Brisbane and what your budget is. Be aware that discount vouchers are available with free membership of Cycling Brisbane (I think 20% off at 99Bikes and 10% off at Giant - from memory). There are also a few stores having Black Friday sales right now.

Thanks so much Andy and others. I passed reply on to her mum. They do go to 99bikes so thanks for the tip about a discount.
C
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Did she end up finding something she liked, with suitable gearing for hills?