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Very good point, it's easy to forget how comfortable we all are with drop bars and clipless pedals etc. My intention was to get a classic touring bike that's comfortable for all day jaunts spending quite a bit of its life on canal paths. Classic looking it should carry a bit more favour than a modern aluminium bike but if a pretty 1" head steel tourer isn't the answer then will go down the same route as the Cannondale.
jambon-
Forgot to mention actually we got her on a 1x for a while and that built her confidence with the gears - it's just the hills round here that mean she needs a triple. Maybe a galaxy with flat ish bars and a nice wide range 1x could be the ticket for your other half? Could always add a front mech in the future.
Sounds like my next current project...
TM
So most important things I've found that have built her confidence are flat bars with easy to use shifters/brakes, gear displays on shifters to show what gear she's in, triple chainset and wide range rear cassette (even if she doesn't need the granny gear often it builds her confidence to have it as an option), comfortable position and saddle, good brakes, light and responsive enough to feel like a road bike rather than a tank.
All sound pretty obvious but to you and me, we can live with DT shifters, drop levers, looking down to see what gear we're and different positions etc. We tried different bikes over last few years but she hasn't taken to any like this one.