[John Rogers]

I would recommend going to a pro shop where they can fit her on the type of bike she wants to get. The old method of straddle the top tube is not real accurate and depending how her body is sized can leave her very uncomfortable. When she is sitting with both feet on the pedals and one pedal at the bottom her foot should point down slightly, her knee should be bent about 15 degrees or so and she should be able to feel comfortable reaching the bars. Make sure the fitting is done with a female seat as bikes used to always come with a male seat and the female one a bit wider and has better padding. When I raced competively in the 70s and 80s fitting someone to a bike was something that was time consuming but worth it.