Why does it have to be so difficult to buy a bike?

p9uma

The Enemy is looking to upgrade her bike, she has a Specialized Dolci Elite, which I bought her when I didn't know any better, and she's been very happy with, however she wants a better bike, just 'cos she can.

She fancies one of the womans specific carbon bikes from either Cube or Cannondale, from what she has read on the intermerwebberry.

Do you think either of us kind find a shop with one we can try? Or even a retail outlet that is willing to get one in for us to try. Can we phuque! It's no wonder the retail industry is going down the toilette. One shop assistant told me today that they wouldn't get a bike in just on the of chance that she might buy it.

GAH!

springtide9

If all LBS fail, Wiggle?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/h/option/BikeDe ... ready2ride

Returns

if you are not happy with your new bike, for whatever reason, you are welcome to return it for a full refund. You can even give it a proper off road ride first to make sure this is the bike for you.

Once you are sure you want to return your new bike, we will arrange a courier to pick the bike up from your address. Email bike@wiggle.co.uk with your order number and times when you will be there to meet the courier. Please note the following:

the bike must be returned to us in the wiggle box it was delivered in, fixed in place with zip ties (supplied). We can supply a new box at the cost of £25
accessories are not typically fitted to bikes unless specifically requested. Accessories fitted are no longer considered as new and may only be returned if faulty
if we fit upgraded components to your bike, you will not be able to return the components or the bike to us unless they are faulty
you will need to pay the cost of returning the bike to us, unless the bike qualifies for our 30 day testride. For most of the UK, this will cost you £20 but for remote areas and the Irish Republic, the cost will be higher. We will confirm the exact cost with you and you will be charged before we arrange collection.
Note: 30 day test ride and free collection not available to international customers. Read more here: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/h/option/30testride


if your bike develops a fault within the warranty period (usually one year), we will repair or replace the faulty component. We will arrange a courier to pick the bike up from your address, fix it and return it to you. Email bike@wiggle.co.uk with your order number and times when you will be there to meet the courier.
Please note the following:

the bike must be returned to us in the wiggle box it was delivered in, fixed in place with zip ties (supplied). We can supply a new box at the cost of £25
for health & safety reasons, bikes sent back to us must be clean
For full step-by-step details on repacking your bike for shipping, click here.

---

Our 30 day test ride

We’re so confident that you’ll love our extensive range of bikes, that we’ll let you ride one as your own for a full 30 days and if you don’t like it, simply e-mail us at bikes@wiggle.co.uk and we’ll pick it up from you free of charge for a full refund! Just make sure you keep the box so it can be re-used to send it back.

The 30 day test ride is available on all bikes available at Wiggle so long as the price when purchased had a discount no greater than 15%. 30 day test rides commence from the date of delivery. Intention to return the bike within the parameters of the scheme must be notified by email within 30 calendar days of delivery. This offer applies to all bikes purchased from 20th November 2010.

Please note: Bikes must be package safely in the same packaging used to deliver the bike to you. Retain packaging in the event of a return. A replacement box can be provided at a cost of £25. Our 30-day test ride is available on any bikes delivered to the mainland UK excluding the following postcodes.

p9uma

Wow! Thanks for that, I didn't know about Wiggle, that sounds like a great deal. Well check out the site.

p9uma

Ok. Checked out the Wiggle site. Good deals good package but not a lot of choice for the memsaab. No Cannondale or Cube.

Crankbrother

Do you not have an Evans nearish ... They'll usually ship what they have in stock to a shop for your missus to have a go on ...

Alternatively if you know the size (notbhard given she already has a bike) just find one from the pretty pictures online and buy it ... Nothing changes that much, especially if you o for a Synapse or similar ...

Oh, what size do you need? The small sized Cannondales are the same geometry for the mens/womens bike ... It's just the saddle and bars that are different ... My gf just bought the mens version in a colour she liked (patriot blue) in the sale and bought some itm elle bars for £20, a white selle italia saddle for £50 and a tenner on white bar tape ... Hey presto, a womens bike costing £1200 for £900 ...

p9uma

Crankbrother wrote:

Do you not have an Evans nearish ... They'll usually ship what they have in stock to a shop for your missus to have a go on ...

Alternatively if you know the size (notbhard given she already has a bike) just find one from the pretty pictures online and buy it ... Nothing changes that much, especially if you o for a Synapse or similar ...

Oh, what size do you need? The small sized Cannondales are the same geometry for the mens/womens bike ... It's just the saddle and bars that are different ... My gf just bought the mens version in a colour she liked (patriot blue) in the sale and bought some itm elle bars for £20, a white selle italia saddle for £50 and a tenner on white bar tape ... Hey presto, a womens bike costing £1200 for £900 ...

We went to Evans and they will get a bike in if they have it in the network, they don't have a bike in the the right size.

A smaller mans bike is an option and we may take that option if we don't have any success.

Crankbrother

Oh well, it looks like you're in for the long haul ...

If it's a 'dale she's after can you not just look over the mens version in a shop then order a womns one fron online ... There is bound to be a saving and that can be used for a new stem etc. if somethingnisn't quite right ... As i mentioned above, you will already know the size you need, just check tne geometry charts for differences between manufacturer ...

I have bought all 3 of my current bikes online without test rides, the gf her last 4 ... and they all fit/run fine ...

Ps. One of the main things to check is the shifters ... My gf has to have campag as she struggles with any shimano other than sora ...

giropaul

There have been a couple of posts in this vein lately, and it has got me thinking.

I wonder if perhaps the way newer riders look at buying a bike has changed?

I think that maybe the thought process is now a bit like buying a car - go through the reviews, test drive, decide.

I'd suggest that buying a bike should be more like buying a suit. You should start with the measurements (either from an existing correctly-positioned bike or from a bike fit), and then find a bike that fits your measurements, in the confidence that it will fit (just like your suit). If the frame measurements fit your needs, and the basic type of frame fits your requirements (touring, racing etc) then I can't see any need to test ride other than to do tiny tweaks to the position. If you want to try, say, Shimano versus Campag versus SRAM, then either swap bikes on a ride with someone, or try one on a turbo in a shop perhaps.

Pross

Women specific frames are just a gimmick. A suitably sized men's frame will be fine. Women specific usually just means a few changes such as stem length plus a bit of pink or lilac on the paint job from what I can tell!

jibberjim

I can't see how a test ride would help anyone decide between bikes, you'll be deciding between tyres, inner tubes, inflation, bar tape, saddle, position it's quickly chucked into. You won't be choosing between bikes at all. And as Pross says, there's more difference between individuals than there is between men and women wrt to the things that change the geometry of frame you might want. Also the standard geometry that a "womens specific bike" favours is actually the opposite to the average difference between male and females (women have longer bodies and shorter legs for the same height within the UK *, the exact opposite of what the higher head tubes of the women specifc frames would lead you to believe - in reality they're just less aggressive frames like the mens "sportive" or "roubaix" frames.)

* Yes I know this is the exact opposite of what you're told with women having longer legs, but it's simply not true for people of northern european descent, it is true for some other groups.

smidsy

giropaul wrote:

I'd suggest that buying a bike should be more like buying a suit. You should start with the measurements (either from an existing correctly-positioned bike or from a bike fit), and then find a bike that fits your measurements, in the confidence that it will fit (just like your suit).

Problem with that is that different manufactures size differently and different styles of frame measure differently so saying you need a 56 sir does not work - too many variables.

Pross

smidsy wrote:

giropaul wrote:

I'd suggest that buying a bike should be more like buying a suit. You should start with the measurements (either from an existing correctly-positioned bike or from a bike fit), and then find a bike that fits your measurements, in the confidence that it will fit (just like your suit).

Problem with that is that different manufactures size differently and different styles of frame measure differently so saying you need a 56 sir does not work - too many variables.

But you know what dimensions you need to be looking for on each tube if you've been properly measured. Ironically the frame size is traditionally based on the length of seat tube but this is easily adjusted after purchase simply by changing the seat post length.

giropaul

Pross wrote:

smidsy wrote:

giropaul wrote:

I'd suggest that buying a bike should be more like buying a suit. You should start with the measurements (either from an existing correctly-positioned bike or from a bike fit), and then find a bike that fits your measurements, in the confidence that it will fit (just like your suit).

Problem with that is that different manufactures size differently and different styles of frame measure differently so saying you need a 56 sir does not work - too many variables.

But you know what dimensions you need to be looking for on each tube if you've been properly measured. Ironically the frame size is traditionally based on the length of seat tube but this is easily adjusted after purchase simply by changing the seat post length.

Exactly. The first measurement that is needed is top tube (horizontal or virtual), then bar height, reach, saddle set-back and saddle height. Between two riders the same height one might need a "bigger" frame - say for a longer top tube or higher bars, the other a "smaller" frame.

smidsy

So nothing like a suit then.

alihisgreat

You should be able to request Giant WS bikes to test ride from most Giant dealers.

Pross

smidsy wrote:

So nothing like a suit then.

It is. Not everyone who is 6' would have 34" inside leg trousers. You take the measurements and either get the bike / suit made exactly to fit you (very expensive) or you get the one that fits your dimensions the closest and have a few alterations made to get things just right (either a few stitches in the sleeves or playing about with stem lengths).

smidsy

My point was that a 42r is always the same 42r.

A 54cm bike is not always the same 54cm.

But I understand the concept of the key measurements etc. just not that it is like a suit.

Anyway the op's original dilema is not be helped by my mutterings so i'll stop now.

p9uma

Having read all the advice and opinions, we are going to try to find the right size "mans" bike for the trouble and strife to test.

pizzaboyEdinburgh

surely the internet is part of the problem. We are overloaded with opinions, facts, choices, pictures and availability that would never have existed 20 years ago. For those of us with little in-depth experience, minimal free time to visit stockists but a lot of internet browsing time in the evenings making a choice is difficult as there is no one, true, right answer.

I reckon eeny, meeny, mynie, moe is the solution.

Shrimp_Stu

Just get as many bikes as you can afford.....for any occasion. I just need one more for a bike a day ;-)

symo

Cervelo never had a women specific range and they had a really successful women's team.
So I guess just get her on a range of small bikes and change stem, crank length etc to suit. Tbh, I see a lot of people on 172.5 cranks when they should be on 170 or shorter.