sixthreezero EVRYjourney Women 7S ST Bike - 26" (Open Box)

One of my favorite activites as a kid was riding my big cruiser bike with my sister (who was on her cool Spyder bike). As an adult, I have had various bikes along the way. I've owned two Trek comfort bikes and loved them. I have been a decorative painter for many years, but then morphed into real estate heavily the last five years. So even though I have been too fat most of my adult life, I was strong from all the ladder climbing and walking -- until real estate took over my life. Haven't gained weight, but the muscles deteriorated! And my knees and hips have rusted up like an old truck. Welllll, last September I embarked on a food plan (RFA -- Kay Sheppard plan) and recovery. So far I have lost 60 pounds, with about that much more to go. One of my goals was to start riding bikes again, since it's my favorite exercise of all. I still have my beautiful Trek bike of many years, but it's a very big bike and a male version, so mounting and dismounting has become painful on this aging body. It even kind-of scares me because I feel I can't get off it fast enough. It ended up being hard for me to feel safe enough to ride. We live (in the coolest old Victorian house) in the middle of a small town, where it has been my dream to ride around and shop with my bike. I was so overweight, I needed to lose a good bit of weight before I was going to be able to bike. I had a "milepost" in my weight journey, that I wanted to buy a more comfortable bike when I had lost x-amount of weight. I simply love the look of a beach bike, and have seen similar models every time we go to the beach. Alas, I was getting close to that number when my 60th birthday was approaching. I had been researching bikes and found this Evryjourney bike. After using their website to ascertain which of the bikes suited my body and lifestyle (with the Bodyfit app), this seemed liked the right one. My four grown children and my husband bought this for my birthday (after I sent back the funky techno watch I didn't know how to operate)... because of the coronavirus scare, there were a lot of folks buying bikes to ride for exercise and fun...so I ordered it with a promise of a backorder. I figured I'd be waiting for months. But fairly soon, I got the notice that I would be getting it. I could hardly wait! It arrived last Monday. My husband and daughter were busy and didn't want to help me that night, so I pulled it out and started assembling. The instructions were simple, though written in a teeny, tiny font (not good when you're half blind and it's evening time). I kept plugging along and got it almost together when I did the thing -- I dropped the seat tube down into the body of the bike, something which the directions explicitly explained NOT to do. My hand/finger strength wasn't sufficient to get it out, but I have a bike-handy neighbor who was able to extract it. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth. I thanked him and then tried to ride it after I got it together....only to realize that I had not tightened several things enough. Mercifully, I took it to him the next day and he tightened everything and made sure the brakes and gears were right. I sheepishly walked it home. I was still scared to get on it (particularly in front of anyone). I laced up my shoes and walked it to a back street. I got on, shaky and uncertain, and started to pedal. My poor left knee did not want to proceed....but within a few minutes it loosened up and I started gliding, gliding, gliding around the neighborhood. I actually cried, as this sweet, beautiful bike brought me back to my happy childhood....I bought the mint green model, which looks like it popped up right out of Mayberry or something. The body of the bike is very sturdy. The gears are smooth as silk. I had to adjust to the idea of the big, wide handlebars...it's very different than the bikes I've ridden as an adult...but I felt comfortable very quickly with that. I am accustomed to 21 gears, so the 7 gear system is different...simpler but that is good too. I am giddy about this bike. It's a lifestyle-kind-of-bike, where I can see myself tooling around town, shopping and visiting friends, as well as exercising my body in a non-stressful and fun way. I plan to ride this several times a week. I ordered a basket and water bottle holder for it and will probably get some pannier bags for the back rack. We live about 25 minutes from the Silver Comet Trail and I also plan to meet up with friends and family there. I am beyond thrilled with this purchase. It seems like a lot of money to spend on a bike when you can go to Walmart and get a much cheaper one...but I've also been down that route. I needed a bike that could handle my weight and height and give me a comfortable way to get in shape and at the same time be useful for shopping and moving around town. Very thankful to my family for helping make this happen. I hope it holds up -- and it seems extremely sturdy and capable of doing that.