Womens/Step-through Frames ?
50YONewbie
Posts: 10
Does anybody know where can I get a quality, but not mega-money, step-through (i.e. "ladies") frame for the wife? By which I mean one for her to ride, not in exchange for her.
She has ridden and loved the same* 531pro Ron Cooper for more than a quarter of a century and it's still a great frame, but her back's bad and she's less able to get her leg over comfortably than she was.**
Ta!
* Please insert joke of choice here
** and here.
She has ridden and loved the same* 531pro Ron Cooper for more than a quarter of a century and it's still a great frame, but her back's bad and she's less able to get her leg over comfortably than she was.**
Ta!
* Please insert joke of choice here
** and here.
0
Comments
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Bump?
Seriously, anyone know of a quality off-the-shelf ladies 700c frame out there please?
We don't want to spend £600 - £1200 on a custom job. The SJSC/Thorn (whom I hold in the highest regard) step-throughs are touring not day-ride orientated and have more braze-ons than a small aircraft carrier. Secondhand (which would be fine) complete bikes in 531 (or similar) Raleighs, Clauds, Carltons, Falcons, etc. are mostly 531 main tubes only and IMO vastly overpriced. As for new complete bikes: Raleighs, Giants (even Halfords' Pendleton) are mostly aluminium, built like mopeds and weigh about the same and Pashleys and the like are lovely but it feels like you're riding a fire-engine. Which appears to leave Titanium which cost more than a bespoke Roberts, far-East carbon which I wouldn't trust, and er, . . . that's it.
Quite like these
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bik ... 356/49933/
the CroMo frame is what we're after but it's quite a lot of money considering the kit is a bit ho-hum.
Any ideas please?
Ta!0 -
do an ebay trawl for raleigh mixte - my mum has one that she's ridden for years (bought from new in 1985ish?) and it's great, it's a 531 and really well thought out. you may have to buy a whole bike and strip it for the parts but sounds like you'd be fine with that
or
how about the planetx pro carbon ? because it uses the compact frame dimensions from the original trek/giant compact frames it has a low toptube, a small size frame may give the leg room compared to a traditional diamond tubeset with the flat top tube: and would be in your budget... just a thought"I get paid to make other people suffer on my wheel, how good is that"
--Jens Voight0 -
Ebay Mixtes seem to be really cheap - and there's no shortage either.Faster than a tent.......0
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Soma Fabrication over in the US offers the Buena Vista, which Mosquito Bikes in London should be able to source for you for sensible money.0
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Soma Fabrication over in the US offers the Buena Vista, which Mosquito Bikes in London should be able to source for you for sensible money.0
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Thanks all!
ed and Rolf, it does have to be a step-through I'm afraid - even a small compact has the top-tube/seat-tube joint too high for her comfort.
eBay mixtes are cheap in general I agree, but genuine 531 throughouts are rare and go for £300 plus (£450+ in one case recently!) In the past I've found with old Raleighs and the like, that if the forks aren't 531 (and they usually aren't) then it's really only two other tubes that are, the seat and downtube. The twin lats on a mixte are usually not IME, and with the forks and stays usually also just gas-pipe, you wouldn't know when riding it, that it had any quality tubes at all.one_bad_mofo wrote:Soma Fabrication over in the US offers the Buena Vista, which Mosquito Bikes in London should be able to source for you for sensible money.
Thanks obm! That's a nice frame - exactly what I had in mind. Is £445 (Mosquito price) a fair shout these days? I'm very out of touch.
Cheers!0 -
if you struggle getting your hands on the Soma this may be an idea.
http://www.condorcycles.com/2011-Range/ ... e-2-9.html0 -
I really want to get my wife one of these. I think thet are lovely.
http://chargebikes.com/bikes/hob12/0
