For some reason this thread stuck in my mind and I was thinking about this when I was out riding earlier ... I wonder of some of the ladies say for us to decide because they realise we possibly have more knowledge about which is good and which is bad and maybe they don't want to pick one if they're not "into" cycling as they'd probably be more biased to go for aesthetics than anything else and don't want to be in a situation picking the one that looks best and you say ..... lovely but it's the lesser quality one as they may feel it highlights their lack of knowledge.
I appreciate it's more difficult if you're having to travel a long way, the ideal is though to say I've found 3 bikes, all of equal quality BUT one bike will fit you better than another so you need to try them and it's a very personal
thing ... they can then ride all 3, their choice may be based on which looks best but if you've said they're all equal quality it really doesn't matter because whichever they choose you can just say great choice .... they may actually pick the one that feels most comfortable which in reality - at the end of the day - is the most important thing.