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It has always been a great time to get into cycling, but truly we have never before seen as many people get into cycling as we have in the last couple of years. Since the pandemic, bike sales have gone up as more and more people sought out safe and affordable ways to get around and get fit.
Cycling offers an individual a ton of benefits, including but not limited to freedom of movement and purposeful exercise. But before you introduce the wonderful world of cycling to your wife or girlfriend (or before you expand her already wonderful world of cycling with a different type or upgraded bike), you should get an idea of what styled bike would best suit her and her cycling desires or goals, as different bikes will best suit such different needs. The following is a look at some broad personality and cycling goals and what type of bike would be best suited to a partner with those personalities and goals to help you narrow down your Christmas bicycle shopping list.
How to Find the Best Bike for Your Wife or Girlfriend This Holiday Season
She is athletic and loves the outdoors.
Does your wife or girlfriend love hiking? Does she enjoy being outdoors and in nature? If so, then consider the beauty of a mountain bike or hybrid trail bike.
Mountain bikes are called "mountain bikes" because of the style of bike rising from the sport of racing down mountains. While people did generally ride all sorts of bikes in the country, this unique sport of purposefully riding down mountains and around self-made dirt tracks didn't arise until the 1970s. Then, people had to tinker and modify other style bikes, generally heavy beach cruisers, in order to create a suitable bicycle for taking on the dirt and rocks. Today, an entire niche industry has grown to create bikes that are comfortable, fast, and durable enough to tackle whatever the great American outdoors has to offer up.
But just because mountain bikes were designed for mountains, doesn't mean you have to go downhill racing to get the most out of one. Mountain bikes are the superior choice for those who want to ride on any kind of outdoorsy trail. If your significant other loves hiking and generally being outdoors, then a mountain bike is a fantastic way to help them get more of that. Mountain bikes help take their riders to more beautiful places and to do so in comfort and style.
While our team at sixthreezero doesn't manufacture more sophisticated mountain bikes, we do make a fantastically popular hybrid trail bike that is aptly called the Pave n' Trail. This bike is an ideal choice for those wanting to do some light outdoors trail exploring. Again, not technically a mountain bike and so not intended for heavy off-road biking, but it does feature some key mountain attributes that make it an excellent choice for light trail riding. For example, it includes mountain bike-inspired front suspension that will soak up jarring bumps your wife will encounter on pot holed-pavement and rocky trails and deliver instead a smooth and comfortable ride. This bike also includes 7 gears that make it easy for the rider to find a good ratio no matter the incline, and it comes standard with a rear rack for any and all picnic packing.
She wants something with stability and/or for around-the-neighborhood errands.
If your wife or girlfriend is concerned about being stable on a bike, whether because of age or because of her never having ridden a bike before, then consider the beauty of the adult tricycle. There is a reason, after all, kids are encouraged to start with the tricycle and only later advance to the form with two wheels. Tricycles, also often called trikes, are incredibly stable machines thanks both to the additional wheel that keeps the entire ride stable and due to their being designed with a lower-to-the-ground frame. Most trikes are also built with an advanced gear set-up that makes climbing up hills easy with a seat set-up that properly distributes the rider's weight and prevents strain on the knees and hips (so long as the seat height is correctly adjusted).
In addition to advanced stability and balance, trikes are also often designed as cargo machines. Most of these styled bikes include a massive rear basket between the two rear wheels. This large basket is ideal for things like carrying home groceries or bringing dining supplies to a neighbor's backyard barbecue. Unlike bicycles upon which adding baskets or even bags can and generally will tweak the balance of the bike, trikes remain stable even with this added basket weight. This is again due to the positioning of the basket between the two aligned rear wheels -- similar to the way a cart with two wheels will always feel more stable than a wheelbarrow with one.
At sixthreezero, we have several fantastic trike models, but are two most popular are this BodyEase Tricycle and the electric EVRYjourney 250W Tricycle.
The BodyEase Tricycle was specifically designed for maximum comfort. Our team at sixthreezero is passionate about getting people on bikes and to do that requires surmounting one of the biggest blocks people have: Comfort.
This trike features a step-through frame that makes it easy for any rider to hop on and off their saddle. Once in the saddle, the bike was designed to be as ergonomic as possible, with a top tube length that won't force the rider to stretch out your arms and a forward-oriented pedal set-up that enables one to easily stretch the leg to full extension without the seat being popped up too high.
Truly, if one of your concerns about buying a bicycle for your loved one is that they won't be able to confidently use it, then this trike is the perfect Christmas choice. As one 73-year-young customer of ours put it, "I haven't been on a bike in 30 years but had no trouble riding this. I highly recommend it."
Now, imagine all the benefits of the trike but with the added bonus of it being electric. Enter the EVRYjourney 250W Tricycle. This beast of a bike includes a 250 Watt Rear Hub Drive Motor that is equipped both to offer an electric pedal assist or to take over the pedaling altogether.
She's an avid cyclist or wants something for commuting.
Maybe your wife or girlfriend already rides bicycles but for whatever reason doesn't have one of their own. Or maybe they have a road bike or mountain bike but could use a type of bicycle that is better for commuting. Maybe they are already using that type of bicycle for commuting and are in deep need for an upgrade. For all these situations and more, the perfect solution is a hybrid bicycle.Hybrid bicycles are the ideal bicycle for beginner cyclists, casual cyclists, and those who simply want a more versatile bike in their wheelhouse. As the name suggests, hybrid bicycles were created as a meshing out of two other style bicycles: Mountain bikes and road bikes.
Remember, mountain bikes were created on their own about 50 years ago in order to reflect the needs of people who wanted to go out on trails and around mountains. These bikes typically feature shocks to absorb jarring path conditions and have forward bars for a more upright riding experience. However, these bikes are typically incredibly heavy and are not known to be very nimble. Most feature thick tires with tread designed to grip dirt and absorb shocks, but not to improve one's speed or traveling efficiency.
Meanwhile, road bikes have been fine-tuned over the last decades into true pavement-mashing speed machines. Even the most entry road bike will be incredibly lightweight with large but narrow tires with minimal treading that will help the cyclist go further, faster with every pedal stroke. But also to improve speed, the road bicycle is designed for wind resistance, most with what are called drop bars which force the cyclist into a bent over position. This position can be uncomfortable and make viewing the road and surrounding conditions rough, especially for beginners.
Most wouldn't describe the hybrid bicycle style as being a perfect meshing of the mountain bike and road bike, but it is certainly a type of bike that showcases the best attributes of each style of bike to deliver something that is comfortable and easy to ride. The typical hybrid bike will feature flat or slightly curved back bars that the cycle to be upright when riding. The tires typically are more similar to road bike tires but with some tread for better grip on dirt and loose rock conditions. These bikes are heavier than road bikes but much lighter than mountain bikes, offering their owners to easily bring them up stairs and feel nimble when navigating down busy roads. Most also will include more utility features like bike racks, water bottle mounts, and plenty of gears.
Here at sixthreezero, we love hybrids. Hybrids are a fantastic solution to many peoples' biking problems. These are bikes that will easily take you around town on your errands while offering you speed, comfort, and good balance. As such, we are proud to offer an array of customized hybrid bike builds, each a bit different to appeal to those unique desires. Two of our most popular women's hybrid models, and models would make for a great present for the cyclist-who-wants-the-versatile in your life are the Reach Your Destination and the A/O Maya 500W.
The Reach Your Destination bike build was designed more with road bike features in mind. This is a lightweight bike that will enable your girlfriend or wife to easily and quickly navigate city and neighborhood roads, and to do some off-roading on light trails when the mood strikes or the road takes them there. This bike does feature the more comfortable, ergonomic design of mountain bikes; a design that we have specialized in order to ensure riders are in the most comfortable position when they ride.
For something with a bit more pizazz, consider the A/O Maya 500W. This is one of our electric hybrid models and is the ideal choice for those wanting a more exciting, specialty riding experience. Or for something like the woman who travels a lot via camping or similar pursuit and wants a solid bike that can take them further. The electric motor is equipped both to be a pedal assist and to take over and deliver full-electric power for upwards of 20 miles. When in use with the full electric mode, the A/O Maya 500W can travel up to speeds of 20 miles per hour, while the pedal-assist mode can travel up to an outstanding 28 miles per hour! These extra mode are fantastic for those who do want to go further without feeling fatigued or who simply want to experience a different type of riding. This bike also comes standard with racks to expand one's riding and allow for things like shopping or bringing the beach gear on the next oceanside adventure.
Contact Our Team to Learn More
We have highlighted some of our favorite bikes here in this list of hot holiday picks, but they certainly aren't the only quality models we have. Plus, if you're going to buy a bike for her, why not buy matching or coordinating one for yourself? Browse our online inventory to see more of our available bicycles and when you're ready to take that next step and learn more about any of those picks, give our team at sixthreezero a call. Before you make your final selection, make sure to check our sizing guide or talk to us about how to get that perfect fit for your loved one. This helps to ensure you get the right fit bike that will be most comfortable for your wife or girlfriend -- and a bike that boasts maximum comfort is a bike that gets taken out again, and again, and again!
