Ladies road bike recommendation

Pea Head

Hi, Can anyone recommend a good quality ladies road bike, for a beginner who is around 5ft 3 in height and costs less than £500.
Thanks

peejay78

ebay ebay ebay...

or the specialized dolce.

inchcape

you can get the giant scr3 ladies version which would be a good starter bike.

blackhands

Have a look at the Evans site:

http://www.evanscycles.com/dept.jsp?dept_id=1033

peejay78

i made one for about £70...

old bird

Hi. I am selling a used Scott S2 Speedster, size 49 cm, for £500. Shimano equipped, triple chainset, nice and light, good condition.

mea00csf

The giant SCR's use exactly the same frame for the womens as the mens, so i wouldn't worry about choosing the womens version of the bike, you'll prob want to replace the saddle anyways

OllyBianchi

My wife rides a Trek 1000WSD which seems to work pretty well - and it's been replaced for 2008 so you could find some old stock for £500 or less.

She's done nearly 2000 miles on it this year, including the London-Canterbury Sportive and since 12 months ago the furthest she had ridden was around the corner to his grandmother's she's done pretty well.

The great advantage the trek has over some of the other budget women's road bikes is that it has mudguard clearence and rack mounts on the back, so it can be used for commuting and light touring if you want to.

benny2891

mea00csf wrote:

The giant SCR's use exactly the same frame for the womens as the mens, so i wouldn't worry about choosing the womens version of the bike, you'll prob want to replace the saddle anyways

From what I understand, the women's sized frames have a shorter top tube then the guy's on the SCR's. Actually, that is what you find in most cases, as the ladies tend to be longer of leg relative to torsos than the fellas. That, and in some cases you can get an overall smaller frame in the womens series.

So, you might not actually need a women specific frame. It depends how long your legs are relative to your torso.

One thing to look out for on frames that would fit you is toe overlap with the front wheel. It's more likely to occur on small frames. My SCR for instance has just a little with the mudguards fitted.

FWIW, I too am a beginner and I love my SCR(3).

inchcape

You can get the giant scr 3 ladies version for £320 at www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk

mea00csf

Noe they're the same, at tleast on last years, i contacted to Giant to find out as i couldn't find the geometries for the ladies bikes.

and check here:

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/tec ... troad_new/

the small in the mens and womens is exactly the same top tube and seat tube length

they're exactly the same in the xs, s, m and deviate slightly at the ladies large, but that's it

benny2891

yup. You're right.

I should have looked before I posted. The reason I remember them being different; When I was shopping for my SCR I was in between a medium and a large for fit. I looked into getting a large women's frame ( to accommodate my longer than average legs). I incorrectly assumed the difference would carry on down through all the sizes.

Mea culpa.

claash

Hi,

I just bought my first road bike, and was also looking for a women specific. I tried the Specialised Dolce and a TREK ladies (can't remeber which one exactly!) But in the end I settled for a BMC. I can really recommend it........ I love riding her!
I am not sure what sort of price it would be in the UK but it is really worth hunting around now as the Bike shops have some fantastic deals on this years models....... And then just haggle em down!!

Good Luck and have fun cycling!!

Pea Head

Thanks everyone for the input and advice, I guess I just have to go and try all these babies out! at my lbs