Affordable Hardtail

[toros]

I'm looking for an affordable hardtail bike for a friend of mine. She's a public school teacher in Baltimore, so price is an issue. She's about 5'7",so I'm guessing, she'll need a small frame. I recently found her husband a trek 4500, now she wants to ride with us, and I'm looking for something similar for around $100. I know this is a very low price for most of the bikes you guys have, but I'm just checking in case anybody has an old but decent beater they have lying around. I also do have some parts lying around, so, partial bikes are an option.

Thanks a lot,

Toros

[crack monkey]

5'7" should also fit a medium frame (though if she has super short arms, a shorty stem might be in order).

[jabberwocky]

I'd say that a small is a better bet. I'm 5'-6" and medium bikes are generally too big for me. Women tend to have shorter torsos than men, so shes probably best on a small. Depends on the bike and her dimensions obviously.

For 100 bucks though, she'll probably have to take what she can get.

[toros]

Yeah I know $100 isn't much, and she'll probably have to be happy with whatever we can find... Craigslist comes up with some options once in a while, I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask here.

[chowderbutt]

we may have someting in the trips for kids fleet in a 15 inch aluminum frame - with a couple years riding on it probably a trek 3700 or novara, 5'7" is too big for a 13"

[philvw]

Dont forget about the upcoming swap meet (http://www.stopswapandsave.com/), might be something there.

[DaveG]

Dont forget about the upcoming swap meet (http://www.stopswapandsave.com/), might be something there.

This is a great suggestion. I picked up a 10 year old Cannondale in great shape for 70 bucks. Perfectly decent bike for easy singletrack riding.

Dave

[toros]

That's perfect. I forgot about the swap. I'll probably look into that first.

Thanks

[rizetech]

If that falls through I have an ironhorse maverick of some year that's small, like 14.5" frame maybe - it was a nice fit for me at about 5'6" although she might want to get a longer seatpost. it's not in bad shape at all, x7/deore parts, some mediocre hayes mechanical brakes, a fork that needs an overhaul, but already has slicks on it, and i more or less did a complete tuneup on it and haven't ridden since... i just don't want it anymore, i figure around 150...