Bikes for short unstable women?
I'm sure this has been answered here before, but I'm having no luck finding the answer! I am an inexperienced/unconfident cyclist that is also fairly short, with short legs (5'1"). I currently have a Trek M-2025 SR suntour 3700, 16", and I don't like it at all. I cannot easily touch the ground from the seat at it's lowest position, and I always feel unsafe because of it. I have to hit the breaks HARD to stop, so that I'm pushed forward off the seat by my momentum and can reach the ground (I can't slowly come to a stop because I can't reach the ground from the seat without tipping the bike excessively). I never feel like I'm really confident about my balance on this bike, and I've spent the past year practicing on it, so I'm thinking the issue is more the bike than me - I hope! I also don't like all the gears - I find it confusing and distracting, and it makes me nervous I will shift into the wrong gear and have issues maintaining my balance. Should I just get a tricycle - do I simply have bad balance - or do you think I would benefit from a better fitting bike? If so, can you recommend a bike for short inexperienced adults?