First road bike for a girl

Sewinman

I am helping a friend buy her first road bike this weekend. She has a budget of around 700-800. I was wondering what people would recommend - bike and other bits? Also, which would be the best shop to go to in the Clapham area?

TIA

EKE_38BPM

Paging LiT! LiT to the thread.

Maybe try contacting Diesel Dog? She hangs around in Cake Stop.

UndercoverElephant

On the Tour of East Lothian at the weekend, I was in a group at the finish with a Polish girl who was riding a Felt ZW-95. She was plenty quick, so I have no hesitation in recommending one of those.

DIESELDOG

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Paging LiT! LiT to the thread.

Maybe try contacting Diesel Dog? She hangs around in Cake Stop.

Giant Defy is what I bought my daughter but I have a Specialized Roubaix blokes bike. I don't do gender specific, it's what you find comfortable so don't rule anything out.

Love n hugs.

DD

Sewinman

DIESELDOG wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Paging LiT! LiT to the thread.

Maybe try contacting Diesel Dog? She hangs around in Cake Stop.

Giant Defy is what I bought my daughter but I have a Specialized Roubaix blokes bike. I don't do gender specific, it's what you find comfortable so don't rule anything out.

Love n hugs.

DD

Thanks for the replies. Do women ride men's road bikes then?

Sewinman

DIESELDOG wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Paging LiT! LiT to the thread.

Maybe try contacting Diesel Dog? She hangs around in Cake Stop.

Giant Defy is what I bought my daughter but I have a Specialized Roubaix blokes bike. I don't do gender specific, it's what you find comfortable so don't rule anything out.

Love n hugs.

DD

Thanks for the replies. Do women ride men's road bikes then?

DIESELDOG

Sewinman wrote:

DIESELDOG wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Paging LiT! LiT to the thread.

Maybe try contacting Diesel Dog? She hangs around in Cake Stop.

Giant Defy is what I bought my daughter but I have a Specialized Roubaix blokes bike. I don't do gender specific, it's what you find comfortable so don't rule anything out.

Love n hugs.

DD

Thanks for the replies. Do women ride men's road bikes then?

Well I do! It fits me perfectly, the only thing I may change are the bars as they are a tad wide if I'm honest. Then again I don't ride at the moment so a bit of a waste of money!

Love n hugs

DD

tx14

of course they do. if it fits it fits.

kelsen

tx14 wrote:

of course they do. if it fits it fits.

Would the top tube not interfere with their petticoats though?

jejv

Sewinman wrote:

I am helping a friend buy her first road bike this weekend. She has a budget of around 700-800. I was wondering what people would recommend

A triple with a Youth-A top gear. Then when she's keeping up 25mph on the flat in top gear, she can have higher gears.

How tall is she?

I'd build a Ribble.

Cafewanda

kelsen wrote:

tx14 wrote:

of course they do. if it fits it fits.

Would the top tube not interfere with their petticoats though?

Trim the petticoats. Simples :P

LondonLivvy - where art thou?

Not sure which bit of Clapham but you could try Apex Cycles/Evans. both at Clapham North. Luciano Cycles, Battersea Rise. Further afield is Crazy Horse @ Tooting Bec, PSubliminal and Cyclopolis on Balham High Road.

ETA: Never visited LC and not bought a roadbike from any of them.

DonDaddyD

Bike shops in the Clapham Area:

Cyclopolis - bottom of Balham hill

Psubliminal - bottom of Balham hill

Luciano Cycles - Clapham Junction, where I bought my Kharma

Apex Cycles - A mate of mine, swears by them.

I haven't a bad word to say about any of these bike shops. Each know their product and generally seem to have a real passion for the past time.

As for what bike, usual logic applies.

Try a bunch out. The one that fits and is comfortable is probably the winner.

I know on a recent visit that Cyclopolis do Felt, Cannondale and Bianchi and have a few girls ones in. Psubliminal do Trek and may have a womans specific bike in store. - You don't need a womans specific option though.

Equipment:

Helmet
Shoes - if she wants a clipless pedal system (Spd)
Some lycra to begin with - but I would shop online for that.
Gloves/mits
Bag
Innertubes, tyre levers, mini pump
Track pump
Cycle craft
Front and rear lights

Any of those ought to see (whatever you/she thinks is most important) her get started.

essexian

I know its Halfords but there are some special offers on Boardman bikes at the moment including this:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710

The Boardman womens hybrid Comp is only £399. Both first rate bikes at great prices (and no, I dont work for Halfords!)

kelsen

Cafewanda wrote:

kelsen wrote:

tx14 wrote:

of course they do. if it fits it fits.

Would the top tube not interfere with their petticoats though?

Trim the petticoats. Simples :P

Yeah, that works for me!

DonDaddyD

Oh also, and this may come as surprise.

The newly opened Evans cycles in Wimbledon should be considered a serious option.

I love that store and it is huge, used to be the old BMW car show room and has an incredible selection of bikes and bike gear for both genders.

If you venture that far, come find me and say hi! I don't live that far away.

Sewinman

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful. I wonder what the point of women specific bikes are if men's ones fit well?

I have heard Halfords are not very good at bike building - but that seems a good deal, what do you make of the spec?

Cheers.

londonlivvy

Sewinman wrote:

Thanks for the replies. Do women ride men's road bikes then?

Depends on the girl. I am told that on average, women have longer legs in proportion to the length of their torso and therefore require bikes with different geometry. Girls bikes also benefit from a girls saddle (essential) and compact handlebars (sometimes essential).

I have short legs and a long body so am better suited to men's bikes and changing a saddle over is not a problem. Handlebars can be more of an issue (my hands are too small to reach the brakes) but shims can be a cheap way of resolving that.

I would absolutely not recommend Luciano Cycles. They've been rude and condescending to me on more than one occasion. Prologue are nice (though in Mortlake) and very knowledgeable.

londonlivvy

Sewinman wrote:

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful. I wonder what the point of women specific bikes are if men's ones fit well?

Cheers.

Effectively it's a quick route to having more parts of the bike suitable for you.
It's a PITA to swap handlebars.
And buying a new saddle and then selling the one supplied with the bike on ebay is another faff.
And some girls like pink bikes.

asprilla

I'm a bloke who needs a girly bike since I've got longer legs and a shorter torso.

Basically you are looking for a slightly shorter top tube and a slightly longer head tube. To be honest this mean most audax / sportive bikes should be fine so options like a Defy or a Roubaix (or whatever the alu version is) would be ideal.

Clever Pun

Asprilla wrote:

I'm a bloke who needs a girly bike since I've got longer legs and a shorter torso.

Basically you are looking for a slightly shorter top tube and a slightly longer head tube. To be honest this mean most audax / sportive bikes should be fine so options like a Defy or a Roubaix (or whatever the alu version is) would be ideal.

for some reason I read that as needing girly saddle... was a bit of a oh hello what do we have here, but then the real words came though.

Sewinman

londonlivvy wrote:

Sewinman wrote:

Thanks for the replies. Do women ride men's road bikes then?

Depends on the girl. I am told that on average, women have longer legs in proportion to the length of their torso and therefore require bikes with different geometry. Girls bikes also benefit from a girls saddle (essential) and compact handlebars (sometimes essential).

I have short legs and a long body so am better suited to men's bikes and changing a saddle over is not a problem. Handlebars can be more of an issue (my hands are too small to reach the brakes) but shims can be a cheap way of resolving that.

I would absolutely not recommend Luciano Cycles. They've been rude and condescending to me on more than one occasion. Prologue are nice (though in Mortlake) and very knowledgeable.

Thanks very much, very useful. I live a stones throw from Luciano but am not impressed by their stock levels - they have about one of everything!

walkingbootweather

Sewinman wrote:

Thanks very much, very useful. I live a stones throw from Luciano but am not impressed by their stock levels - they have about one of everything!

I wouldn't go there for shoes then..

Specialized Needs

I always think it is worth choosing a shop by seeing who they talk to when they realise who the bike is for. When my wife and I went buying, several salesmen directed their comments to me. I didn't like that. She knew what use she wanted from the bike. I was happy to chip in when I felt the salesman was using some flimflam.

My wife is a 'comfortably' curved shape, and rides a Tricross (it is a jack of all trades for commuting, leisure and more serious stuff). A so-called 'male' geometry, but it fits her to a T. It is a fairly relaxed shape. Other girls in her (all-female) club ride, as I recall, an Allez, a Dolce (female version of Allez), a (male) Trek and a Roubaix.

If she is already a reasonably comfortable cyclist on the road, then use Evans' free bike test rides (I assume they still do them) to try out a few bikes and sizes. Go to a quiet area where she can get used to drop bar gear changing ... maybe a park where you can cycle. Evans swipe a card and take £50 deposit, or did last time I did it. Go into a branch when they are quiet to get them to spend more time setting up the trial bike. She may prefer flats to toeclips - Evans tend to chuck on whatever comes with the bike, so worth asking them (keep the unfamiliar items as few as possible). It may take Evans a few days to get a bike in her (rough) size in - we got 52 and 54 cm bikes in for her to try. You don't have to use Evans once you know the kind of bike (but some stores are not too bad, anyhow). Encourage her to take her time trying the bikes out. It is a lot of money to spend if she ends up feeling uncomfortable.

As others have said, some parts may need a swap on a 'male' bike. Certainly the saddle (I can recommend she try the Specialized Woman's Sonoma - but she will need a little trial and error to be sure of a saddle - Charge Ladle gets some good reviews). I would hope a shop would swap the saddle FoC if it is similar value. Bars are more of a pain and I would expect some cost to be involved. Shims are great for smaller reaches and Shimano STIs should come with 4 and 8 degree shims to insert at the top of the brake hood.

Some shops may also offer a free bike fit. This might be helpful, depending on how good they are at it, of course!

Hope this helps

lost_in_thought

Women's specific geometry is a bit of a myth in my book.

I'm the allegedly standard-issue long legs short back shape, and still couldn't find a women's road bike that fit me.

I recommend taking her to a good shop who will do a fitting for her. If they start trying to push her onto women's bikes without good reason, go elsewhere.

DonDaddyD

Within the area (SW post codes) DeVer cycles are, arguably, the best for 'properly' measuring you to the bike.

You could pretty much map out a day, fitted at DeVer then head to Wimbledon Evans Cycles, Balham for Cyclopolis and Psubliminal and end the day at Apex cycles in Clapham.

Between those stores you'll have a selection Giant (DeVer), Trek (Psubliminal - though may not have stock), Bianchi, Felt and Cannondale (Cyclopolis) Specialized and everything else (Evans and Apex).

But that may overwhelm so perhaps narrow it down to two//three options before you go.

At £700-£800 you're looking at Shimano 2300 and sora. Not sure what the Campag equivalent is.

Hell because I want some attention I'll even narrow it down for you:
Bianchi option 1
Bianchi option 2 - this is the one I saw in the window, pretty nice actually
Cannondale
Specialized - For reasons I cannot explain I've always loved the look of this bike.
Trek

Obviously if the women's version doesn't fit, try the male varient i.e. If Specialized try the Allez or Sectaur. Cannondale Synapse and so on.

Lastly, Evans cycles may still have sale stock they're trying to offload, and because she is a girl I'm assuming she'll need a bike of smaller size - exactly the ones that don't sell out quickly in the sales. (My go to shop is either DeVer or Cyclopolis).

linsen

I have two "men's" road bikes. They fit me perfectly.

I'd agree with the above - may need to change bits (certainly the saddle), but go with whatever fits.

vorsprung

Sewinman wrote:

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful. I wonder what the point of women specific bikes are if men's ones fit well?

WSD bikes and Sportive bikes have a similar short top tube
On Sportive bikes it is to give a more upright riding position
On WSD bikes it is because women have a shorter reach

Sewinman

Thanks very much for all your replies - great stuff.

PinkPedal

Something I noticed when buying my bike was that on the WS bikes you seemed to get fleeced on componentry compared to a similar priced 'mens' bike. I was adamant I didn't want some floral monstrosity but at 5'3 fit is a bit more tricky - if you friend is taller she'll have more options! I have a xsmall 'mens' bike though. I can thoroughly recommend DeVer, they spent a good few hours measuring and going through possible bikes with me. I'd called in advance, don't know if this made a difference to the amount of time they had. Happy shopping!

clarkey cat

My GF has the specialised dolce and she really likes it.
She used to have a small man's carrera vanquish but the brakes were too far away so she fitted BMX drakes to the top bars.

snailracer