Brian's PRIORITY CONTINUUM is a great choice.
Perhaps an even better choice for some might be the ancient Women's step through frame SCHWINN SUBURBAN five speed of 1970 - 1976 -and- COLLEGIATE of 1970-1977.
Why? Because you had three different frame sizes in those step through Schwinn Suburbans and Collegiates of the SEVENTIES that I mentioned.
The relaxed frame geometry and generally long wheelbase makes each of the frame sizes USEABLE for greatly varied height men & women (couples) -or- for a parent and pre-teen child to share.
You have these three frame sizes...............17 inch.......................19 inch.........................and 21 inch
In Brian's case (above).......Brian is 5ft 11 inches tall and his spouse is about 5ft 6 inches tall.
HERE based on my experience the 19 inch step through electroforged frame of the Suburban / Collegiate of the SEVENTIES is probably ideal for them.
They could also choose the 21 inch frame, because Brian's wife is at least 5ft 6 inches tall. One thing that you will surely find is that these old electroforged frames are significantly larger than modern frames............THE WHEELBASE IS LONGER......and BECAUSE OF THE SLACK ANGLES, AS THE SEATPOST RISES IT GOES FARTHER REARWARD (the seat goes rearward more than typical modern bicycles)......
------Okay now, what if you have a pettite wife who might be somewhere in the 4 foot 11inch to 5 foot 1 inch range ----and--- you are 6ft 0inches tall..............YOU COULD STILL EASILY FIT ON THE small 17 inch frame, assuming that you're an athletic 6ft man and you don't resemble the shape of TV detective Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad......... Why will this work? BECAUSE YOU CAN ADJUST THE SEATPOST VERY HIGH ON THESE ANCIENT SCHWINNS (yes, you will need to swap out the factory stock nine inch seatpost for something probably at least 10.5 inches or longer.........but you have both new aftermarket WALD seat posts, old factory Schwinn seatposts, as well as posts that folks like Porkchop bmx carries....................so you have a bunch of longer posts in various lengths between ten inches and nineteen inches.................The stock seat post on the old banana seat bikes was around 14.5 inches long so there are millions of those longer posts out there.
There is no problem using them as they are the same 13/16 diameter.....................yeah, the posts are gonna be heavier because they are longer but who cares if it adds 1/8th of a pound to the overall weight of your bike..................you're not looking for a lightweight racing style bicycle anyway!
In this example of the 5 ft woman and the 6 ft man.........The 21 inch frame likely will be too big for the woman even with the seat lowered all the way down. The 19 inch frame might work for the 5 ft woman with the seat as low as possible.....if she's 4 ft 11 or under 5 ft then probably she'd need the 17 inch frame................Obviously, I am guessing based on experience and average-general sizes......but as everyone knows legs and torsos vary even though people may be the same overall height.
What I am saying is that these THREE (17) , (19) , and (21) women's step through SUBURBANS/COLLEGIATES of the SEVENTIES probably offer the widest range of possibilities for each of the frame sizes. No other bicycle, modern or ancient, offers that wide of a useable Rider Fit range because of the SLACK GEOMETRY and LONG WHEELBASE that those ancient electroforged Chicago SCHWINN frames have.
********************Now, YOU WOULD NEED TO CARRY a 9/16 WRENCH (spanner for those of you across the pond..)............You would need to carry the 9/16 wrench in your seatbag so that whatever RIDER can RAISE / LOWER the SEATPOST as REQUIRED for THEIR OVERALL HEIGHT!
It is fairly simple, as one can do this in about 45 seconds, and certainly under a minute.
I'm just saying that many of you may not realize just how good those old Schwinns are until you actually get a chance to sit and ride on one that perhaps a friend, neighbor, or relative owns. THE 5 speed COLLEGIATE of the 1970 - 1977 era and the 5 speed SUBURBAN of 1970 - 1976 are the most durable derailleur equipped geared bicycles that Schwinn ever made!!! The 1964-1969 5 speed COLLEGIATE is NOT AS GOOD, although it is equal in quality to the 10speed Varsity, Continental and 10 speed Suburbans. You also had a bunch of 3 speeds that Schwinn offered from the forties until the Chicago end at the beginning of the eighties.
THESE 1970 -1977 5 speeds ARE MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BEST THAT SCHWINN EVER MADE, and that they were offered in the largest selection of step-through frame sizes (three: 17, 19, and 21 ) during that time period! Millions of them were also sold, so locating one should not be difficult.
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...0/1973_20.html
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...0/1973_22.html
Both the 1970 and later COLLEGIATE and SUBURBAN five speed have 46 teeth single front crank and 32, 26, 21, 17, 14 at the rear wheel.
THE COLLEGIATE HAS THE 597mm 26 x 1 3/8 wheels---------and the SUBURBAN HAS THE 630mm 27 x 1 1/4 wheels.
The SUBURBAN has the Tubular Front Fork from the Continental, but not the centerpulls of the Conti, as the Suburban has the same sidepulls as the VARSITY.
The COLLEGIATE has the Ashtabula Blade Front Fork of forged steel that was common to millions of bikes including Varsity, Breeze, Speedster, so many others.
The Collegiate has L.S. 2.8 weinmann made side pull brake calipers(same as the weinman 810 model) which are longer reach than the Varsity/Suburban's L.S. 2.4 weinmann made side pulls...........................The Collegiate's are obviously longer reach because the Collegiate's wheel is (26) 597 BSD and the SUBURBAN/Varsity wheel is (27) 630 BSD.
*******************There is currently only KENDA that manufactures the 37-597 26 x 1 3/8 "schwinn tire" for the 597 twenty-six S5 & S6 Schwinn wheels.
You have a wide range of choices in the (27) 630mm tires needed for the SUBURBAN / VARSITY / CONTINENTALS etc but for the (26) 597mm tires needed for COLLEGIATE/BREEZE/SPEEDSTER and many other varied names that Schwinn used over four decades with 26 inch 597mm wheels, ---YOU ONLY HAVE THE KENDA "schwinn" 597mm 26 x 1 3/8 tire. It is an excellent tire. It is widely available online and it is relatively inexpensive. Like all 26 inch 597mm "schwinn" tires have been throughout history, THIS 597mm SIZE TIRE IS A BEAR FOR NOVICES TO MOUNT EVENLY IF THEY HAVE ZERO PRIOR EXPERIENCE WITH BICYCLE TIRE MOUNTING. There are YOUTUBE tutorials that expertly show you how to..................proceed slowly.......perhaps use a tiny bit of dishwashing liquid soap .
If replacement cables are needed, The BELL PITCREW 600 cable set for $10 from Walmart online and at some Walmart stores, and online from Ace Hardware HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED EXCEPT THAT YOU'LL NEED To Borrow, Buy, or otherwise obtain a Bicycle Brake Cable Cutter Tool.........such a tool can be found for approx $18 with free shipping online or new from ebay sellers............it is the same visually as the expensive branded tool that costs three to four times as much.
Yes, it might not last as long as the expensive brand name tool, but I can attest that I've done over 30 bicycles with the "cheap" tool and it still cuts as clean as it did on the first bicycle....................I didn't expect it to be as good as it has turned out to be..........I guessed that it likely would become less useable or totally unuseable after 15 bikes when I ordered the brake cable cutting pliers tool, but surprisingly enough it arrived and the tool's construction and materials are excellent quality. It cuts clean. I can't match that with a Dremel with a cutoff wheel.
Stay thin, ride a SCHWINN.
Those ancient 5 speed SUBURBANS in the step through Women's models ( Collegiates too...), are great general purpose utility bicycles that can accomodate riders of all sizes. They are bulletproof, bombproof, and comfortable to ride. Yes, they are heavy, but you're not gonna race, or ride with a fast pack,..................and yes you would have to carry along a 9/16 wrench to make seat post adjustments if changes in seat height are needed for riders of differing heights. You can purchase a new 9/16 o-----c wrench for probably less than $4 from the Harbor Freight store. It will fit inside a new small seatbag that you can find from hundreds of US based as well as Shen Zhen China based vendors on ebay for less than $12 from US sources and less than $7 from China based vendors for the same exact item......could be less or more from Amazon depending on the color and style of the seat bag.