Originally Posted by
velocipedia
Darth, thank you for all these links...I've never heard of any of these brands except Kona, but all the bikes looks great. I can research the dealers and see if any of them are around me. Some are too spendy for me, but the more-affordable ones' specs are as good as (if not better than) some of the adult versions I've looked at. I really appreciate your time and effort in showing me that there are other possibilities out there for someone my size.
You know, I just bought a '92 Specialized Rockhopper for $75, and promptly spent quite a bit less than your budget (including labor) to have her built up into a very nice road/off-road/cruiser/day-tripper with North Road bars and big, plush tires. I'm 5' 4" and am in love with 26" wheels; finally it feels proportional! It does have rim brakes, but if you get Kool Stop pads, it'll
definitely stop.
You might check CraigsList and eBay for old mountain bikes; find a frame that fits, and build it up to the kind of bike you want. Our local bike kitchen recently recycled an awesome old Trek Antelope that might have been just your size. Tragic.