Bike for my better half.

Gentabout

Looking for some advice from someone who may know.

I have recently got my partner interested in cycling and after a shaky start she is starting to enjoy it, i bought her a ladies GT Avalanche 2.0 which she has been getting on with ok. Since buying hers i have spent a small fortune on upgrading my own bike which was old and heavy and now feel that hers is lacking compared to mine and hers weighs not far of twice the weight of mine.

So my thoughts are to treat her to something nearer the spec of mine and full suspension, the LBS have recomended a Trek Lush something or other at about 2.3K. This has SLX components in the main where as i am running XT Groupset with the latest XTR brakes.

What i don't want to do is hold her back with a bike that is not capable of keeping up with mine as she will soon get fed up and not want to get out and about.

I leave the floor open to you all to come up with some suggestion.

Thanks

Dean

_Lizz_

Have you asked her what she would like? Get her to try out a few bikes (has she had a go of yours?) so that she gets a feel for what she likes and doesn't like and what she would change about the current one.
Work from there.

It's nice that you're thinking about getting her something better rather than leaving her riding a tank up a hill after you, but it's a lot of money for something that you need to be sure she actually wants!

Gentabout

_Lizz_ wrote:

Have you asked her what she would like?

That is a little difficult as she really does not know at the moment the differences, she is adament that she does not want a white one and i am fairly confident that she wants a full suspension job as she keeps asking how comfortable mines is over rough ground :oops:. Weight is also a big issue, she is only 5 5" and small where as i am over 6 1" and a fat git, currently i carry her bike up stairs etc and if i don't get back down quick enough she grabs mine but i would rather she took hers as it would be a smaller bike aswell.

_Lizz_ wrote:

Get her to try out a few bikes (has she had a go of yours?) so that she gets a feel for what she likes and doesn't like and what she would change about the current one.
Work from there.

Trying out the bikes is difficult, none of the LBS have any high end Ladies bikes to try, a few offer to order them in but would rather we knew what we wanted first and placed a deposit. I have suggested she tries mine but she is hesitate as she still lacks confidence on the bike and she does not want to fall off, plus my frame is fairly large with a long stem and i don't think she would reach easily, i do intend to get her on it this weekend though even if it is only up and down the road at home.

Currently she is finding that her arms, wrists and hands are aching, she is currently holding on to the bars to tight and i think maybe the length of the standard setup is wrong.

My time scale i am aiming for is early next year once she has put a few more miles on the current bike but if something comes up sooner that is better for her and helps her enjoy the riding more then i will go for it.

Esmerelda

Maybe she could try out a few bikes belonging to other girls? Or perhaps there are some demo days coming up? Whereabouts do you live?

_Lizz_

Gentabout wrote:

she is adament that she does not want a white one

Lol, that's how I chose my bike... starting with the most important part, colour!

Hire bikes from a trail centre at some point perhaps?

poppit

This http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2080
Or this http://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2081

There's not many of them left though in XS

composite

Gentabout wrote:

So my thoughts are to treat her to something nearer the spec of mine and full suspension, the LBS have recommended a Trek Lush something or other at about 2.3K. This has SLX components in the main where as i am running XT Groupset with the latest XTR brakes.

Not exactly the topic, but I wouldn't worry about the difference between SLX and XT, it won't hold anyone back. The performance difference is as little as very slightly smoother shifting, IMO anyway.

If you feel you are not getting value for money though because its SLX not XT then that's a different matter.

Gentabout

Thank you all for the help so far, I have looked around a little more since my initial post and do like the Canyon but a bit concerned she can't try it first and supply of the bike. I have also had a look at a few Cubes and they seem to offer excellent value.

I need to take my car in for a service and Mot on saturday at Merc Lakeside and there is a Evans store nearby so i intend to get her in there to try out some different sizes, there is also a Decathalon store as well so we can look there too.

We are based near Sittingbourne in Kent and currently riding places like bedgebury but only the family trails whilst she gets confident, last weekend after doing a loop of Bedgebury we also cycled along the coast from Reculver to Margate and back. I don't know any other ladies that have decent bikes she could have a try off.

I have also considered and discussed with her the possibility of her doing a ladies focused skills course to help her.

Dean

oodboo

Orange five diva
Ok, they're white but If you're willing to pay the extra they can be any colour you want.
Someone had to say it.

Pezzle

Can highly recommend Dirt Diva's for women only courses based over at Swinley Forest.

miss notax

oodboo wrote:

Orange five diva
Ok, they're white but If you're willing to pay the extra they can be any colour you want.
Someone had to say it.

I ride a custom Orange 5 Diva and they are great bikes.... I'm 5ft 4 and the 14" frame is perfect for me.

I'm sure I saw a green frame 2007 Diva 5 on Ebay recently. Worth having a hunt?!!

Gentabout

Little Update.

Last weekend we ventured in to Evans at Lakeside and discussed things with a helpful guy who let her have a ride around the car park on a ladies Trek EX 5, she found it to be a lot more comfortable than the GT but it was only a 20 minute blast around the car park so hard to tell. What was good though was that she let the assistant put the saddle at a more sensible height than on hers and she coped ok and found it easier to peddle etc (i have been trying to convince her about this since day one but she did not believe me).

Had the spec been higher on the trek then i would have bought it but it was lacking a little, it was either a 15 or a 15.5 frame and the size was about right. So armed with a little more confidence i will look at a few more options for her. How can i wrap a bike to put it under the xmas tree without her noticing

Dean

hellsbells

im selling my Orange five Diva if you want to try it, its 18 months old and custom passion red!!

Gentabout

Well after lots of looking and test rides and some bum advice from some some shops we have her a nice shiney new bike. We travelled 100 miles this afternoon to try a couple if bikes at pedal on and after some very helpful advice settled on a Trek top fuel eight in a 16.5 frame. Was a good price too so that's helped.

One shop really tried hard to sell us a anthem x3 in a mans medium frame, tried to convince her it was perfect but I was not so sure, plus it was at full retail when other places had it with £700 off, think they thought they could rip of a woman.

Thanks for the help.

Dean