Need to get the bike a wife

thelawnet
thelawnet Posts: 719
edited July 2012 in Commuting chat
No wait, that's wrong, I need a bike for my wife.

Any tips?

She's 5'1", and currently owns a Giant Sedona DX W in a 14" frame. It's got 26" wheels, with 1.95" tyres, crap front suspension, suspension seat and 24 Shimano Acera MTB gears.

It's an older version of this
http://www2.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bi ... tions_id=4

It's horribly sit up and beg, and just crap basically.

She's got 6.5 miles to travel largely over rural A-roads. And she needs to bring knives (she's a chef), so some kind of luggage I guess.

She is taking the car ever yday at the moment, I would like to encourage her to go by bike to save on fuel etc., and also so she can keep up with me/has more endurance for going out on weekends with the kids.

It's her birthday in a couple of weeks.

I was thinking a touring type bike, but not really sure. £600???

Comments

  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    "Flat bar road bike" style hybrid? Boardman?
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • clarkey cat
    clarkey cat Posts: 3,641
    I'd love to get my wife this - I think it looks amazing. Possibly use some of the bits from the Giant and transfer across?

    soma_bv_frame_graphite_wfork.jpg
    Dolan Mythos
  • thelawnet
    thelawnet Posts: 719
    bails87 wrote:
    "Flat bar road bike" style hybrid? Boardman?

    One of these?

    http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

    I wonder if she'd be better with drop bars.

    I think she does like the step-through frame, though I guess for just going to the train station in a skirt she could keep the Giant, so maybe that doesn't matter.
  • clarkey cat
    clarkey cat Posts: 3,641
    you can get road / tourer bikes with step-through frames. Touch over budget though - unless you have parts laying around to build it up.

    ItaliaStep_Thru_web.jpg&newxsize=752&newysize=455
    Dolan Mythos
  • thelawnet
    thelawnet Posts: 719
    That looks rather nice.

    Looks like well over £1k though.
  • jds_1981
    jds_1981 Posts: 1,858
    thelawnet wrote:
    No wait, that's wrong, I need a bike for my wife.

    It's her birthday in a couple of weeks.

    Devils advocate - are you sure it won't just end up being unused as well? £600 buys a lot of pretty stuff :D
    FCN 9 || FCN 5
  • clarkey cat
    clarkey cat Posts: 3,641
    I bought the missus a Specialised Dolce Elite. She used it about 3 times.
    Dolan Mythos
  • TheEnglishman
    TheEnglishman Posts: 587
    What's wrong with getting a brompton? The luggage on the front can be cavernous and 6.5 miles is easy on one
    Please click here to sponsor me on a 100 mile charity bike ride in aid of the MS Society
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    I bought my wife a Ridgeback for £300 4 years ago.

    Just as well I didn't really splash out as it is currently running at £100 per trip, 0r £7.89/mile. :shock:

    My "good bike" is running at 25p/mile. And declining.
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • chadders81
    chadders81 Posts: 744
    You could get her a Ribble winter trainer for £560. Already has guards on it and eyes for a rack.

    If you get some spacers under the stem, she'll be fairly upright anyway.
  • Tricycleboy
    Tricycleboy Posts: 373
    Are you sure you want to do this? I bought my GF a used but great condition alu eddy merckx off the classifieds forum for about £300. First time out she destroyed me up a mountain pass in snowdonia. :oops: Bloody marathon runner's fitness.
  • thelawnet
    thelawnet Posts: 719
    daviesee wrote:
    I bought my wife a Ridgeback for £300 4 years ago.

    Just as well I didn't really splash out as it is currently running at £100 per trip, 0r £7.89/mile. :shock:

    My "good bike" is running at 25p/mile. And declining.

    She happily rides her bike a mile for errands, but not more than that. So she's not a bike refusist.
  • daviesee
    daviesee Posts: 6,386
    thelawnet wrote:
    She happily rides her bike a mile for errands, but not more than that. So she's not a bike refusist.
    Good to hear. Just a warning tale. :D
    None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,768
    I bought my wife a lovely old mixte framed thing off Ebay. Tyres were perished, but it looked like it had never been ridden. I told her I would change the drop bars to something she preferred. But she hated it and wouldn't entertain it. So I was going to sell it to Coriororiordan for what I paid for it. But she gave it to a friend's daughter, I think she wanted it gone. Got her a more sit up town bike with hub gears and she loves it.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • UndercoverElephant
    UndercoverElephant Posts: 5,796
    Tricycleboy wrote:
    Are you sure you want to do this? I bought my GF a used but great condition alu eddy merckx off the classifieds forum for about £300. First time out she destroyed me up a mountain pass in snowdonia. :oops: Bloody marathon runner's fitness.

    A mate's wife used to beat him up hills whilst doing one-legged drills. She's a bit good, though.
    Sun - Rain - Snow
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    bails87 wrote:
    "Flat bar road bike" style hybrid? Boardman?

    Yes. After the theft of Mrs 66's bike, we got her a Boardman hybrid from the fi range. Very nice bike, and nice and reasonably light (well, it was, before she piled all her crap onto it).
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A

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