Buying a bike as a present for my girlfriend

peter_964rs

Hi, I want to buy my girlfriend a new bike as a present. She's not ridden one since age 6 but is keen. Ideally I'd like it to be a surprise, but I'm not sure that's possible....?

Say I spend between £300 and £400, for a bike suitable for easy riding on cycle paths and country roads. What are my options? Will it be possible to surprise her, or do I have to take her to the shop to make sure we get one that "fits"? Etc....

Thanks in advance for any advice & guidance....

giant_man

Risky if you ask me. As you say the fit is the main thing. If you know all her dimensions then fine but to buy blind imo is not a good thing.

Rather than be a surprise, why not take her along to a good bike shop and get her measured, then buy the one you think she would like in her size. So not completely unsurprising if you see what I mean. And you're playing safe.

mrushton

+ 1

She may not even want a bike but taking her to the shop is the best way. Mudguards will prob. be required and colour important. She doesn't care about Shimano/Colnago. Just that it's easy to get on with. The Giant series look quite nice as do Trek WSD.

Blonde

I agree. A surprise if no good if it isn't a good one! She needs to be properly fitted by a reputable fitter or a good bike shop (not Halfords or Evans, but somewhere like Paul Hewitt, CycleFit etc) but I think she should also test ride any bike before purchase. I test rode my latest purchase around Cheshire for four hours before buying. You can always get some surprise accesories. If you want to give her something to open on her birthday before telling her about the bike and before she gets meausured so it's still a surprise you could make your own bike card/voucher to give to her.

bobtbuilder

It's quite a major purchase, and the right fit will make all the difference to her enjoyment.

Why not book some time in to get her fitted, and have that as the surprise?

SpinningJenny

Why not mock up some kind of voucher with a picture of a bike on it and present it in a spangly envelope (glue and glitter would be good!) on her birthday? You could list on the 'voucher' what the gift includes - ie, searching out perfect bike, spending time with her to get measured up, sussing out what she wants/needs from the bike, etc.

It might be a good idea to try and suss out if she really is properly interested beforehand...
Although I would be dead chuffed myself!

If she really IS interested, that might work well on the day. A small token gift might be nice too (ie, chocs, flowers etc, if she likes that sort of thing).

Just my thoughts, anyway...

Blonde

So we've got a "voucher" for a bike fitting/shopping session as the gift... plus any biking accesories. Sounds good to me.... having inside leg measurement taken by fit young bike shop man.. etc

sampras38

giant mancp wrote:

Risky if you ask me. As you say the fit is the main thing. If you know all her dimensions then fine but to buy blind imo is not a good thing.

Rather than be a surprise, why not take her along to a good bike shop and get her measured, then buy the one you think she would like in her size. So not completely unsurprising if you see what I mean. And you're playing safe.

+1

SpinningJenny

Blonde wrote:

having inside leg measurement taken by fit young bike shop man.. etc

peter_964rs

Thanks folks - really helpful. I like the idea of a card/voucher, even if I make it up myself!

SpinningJenny

I assume that you have at least watched Blue Peter and know how to make use of sticky back plastic, double sided sticky tape, coathangers and empty washing up liquid botlles?

Good luck!

peter_964rs

Yes, but my last Tracey Island looked more like Butlins at Minehead so I'll stick to something from Athena with a witty scrawl inside. It will work just as well on the shag front I reckon :twisted:

robthehungrymonkey

I've just done exactly the same... but I bought a used bike. My girlfriend started off keen, and then the last ride we did (on a borrowed bike) ended quite painful for her and was an unexpectedly hilly route wooops... :oops: So thought a used bike that i could sell and not loose too much money on was a good option.

In the end I went for a specialized Vita. Which is basically a female version of a Sirrus. It's a bit heavier than I expected and the wider tyres (28, i'm used to 23) do make a bigger difference than I expected. But, for "easy riding on cycle paths and country roads" it seems ideal. It also has fittings for guards and racks which appealed as a weekend of mellow touring sounds fun. A new one should come under your budget.

I paid £150 which I think was a bargain, but it did need a serious clean and the cables replaced. Now it looks great though.

SpinningJenny

peter_964rs wrote:

Yes, but my last Tracey Island looked more like Butlins at Minehead so I'll stick to something from Athena with a witty scrawl inside. It will work just as well on the shag front I reckon :twisted:

:twisted: