To be honest , the gift of a bike , especially one that will last someone for longer than their shortterm interest of a month or so , requires that the bike fits the person well and is maintained well . In that sense , it ' s not a very good surprise gift unless you ' re fairly certain you can work things out yourself if there are issues with it . For $ 300 , you ' re looking at a lowerend bike from a major retailer , or something used . At the price range , if possible , I would almost always recommend going used and getting something that is older but of higher quality , vs something newer but of lower quality . Perhaps it could be a gift where you both visit a used bike shop together , have her try out different bikes , and then have her select one that she likes . I did it for my girlfriend now wife several years ago and she still enjoys the bike and rides it to work today . I spent about $ 450 for a trek 5000 .