dgalvin66

I am looking to get something put together for my wife to ride. I had discussed it some in another thread but decided to start one just for this.
My wife has a bad hip so getting her leg over a men's but would be to much trouble so she needs to have a step thru bike.
I did pick up a bike for her recently that I am just not sure if it will be a good fit for her or not.
It is a Nishiki Backroads 26" bike. Here are some measurements from the bike:
The frame appears to be a Large with almost a 19.5 inch seat tube height, wheelbase is 43 inches, top tube at 21 1/2 inches from seat post to the handlebar stem. Tires are 50-559 26x1.90 ( I think a little wider would be better).
It has a straight handlebar with a 7/8" quill threaded stem (it has the hole thru it for the front brake cable) that pushed forward about 3". She would like Beach Cruiser style handlebars. and I think it will need to make changes to the stem to raise it and push the handlebars forward because there just is not much reach while seated.
I have NOS shifters and cables (SunTour 5000 not installed yet) and if I make any changes to the handlebars will need to replace the brake cables and find a front cable hanger for the cantilever brakes.
I am looking for any and ideas on what to do as far as fixing this up for her or looking for something else.
Thanks in advance

pinsonp2 

Before you start upgrading, you need to make sure that your wife is able to get on that bike. The bike is not a step through frame per se and may present a problem for her depending on her flexibility. Something like the Biria Easy Board https://biria.com/series/easy-boarding might be more appropriate. I believe Sun makes a similar bike. Just my two cents.

Penny

dgalvin66

I looked at that bike and they have 1 model that may be tall enough but I need to find out more info as weight limit and such. They don't have alot of info online.

zjrog

If I may second this thought. My wife has poor flexibility, and only rides a "womens" bike indoors. But that also proves difficult to get on and off for her some days. 3 years ago she fell getting off it, yes, a stationary bike, and broke her left ankle in the process. So if her flexibility is compromised, that could be a problem.

dgalvin66

I agree 100%. It scares me thinking about it but she feels left out when I take our grand daughter riding and really wants to try. So all I can do is support her and get her setup the best ways that I can.
I have ordered all the parts to get this bike together to make it as easy and safe as possible and go from there.