Women's road bike recommendations?

notsoblue

Apologies if this is the wrong forum for this...

My sister is looking knock her cycling up a notch and move from a hybrid to a road bike. She has an 8 mile each way commute, and would like to ride more at the weekend for sport. She's looking for something within the Cycle To Work budget (up to a grand) and I'm looking for some guidance from those more competent than I...

So I've got two questions:

1) Are female specific bikes worth restricting your choice for? Other than colour scheme and saddle type, is their geometry something that you couldn't just adjust a unisex bike to match (small frame, shorter stem, etc)?
2) Whats the best bang for your buck these days for a £1000 road bike? Costs seem to have gone up since I bought a road bike. It looks like you get less groupset for your money these days.

Cheers!

suzyb

I think it depends on the size / shape of the woman whether female specific is better. I have to go for a women's bike because they don't make mens small enough but if your sister is more "average" then she may be able to find a unisex bike to suit.

msmancunia

I got a women's specific as my first road bike because I didn't know any better, although I was sold it by a girl who owns a bike shop and it's been brilliant. I'm 5ft6, with not exactly the longest legs in the world, and I've done 3k miles on it in the last 18 months without any problems, mechanical or physical.

Think mine's the 2011 model of this: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/ro ... /lexa_sl/#

suzyb

Am I correct in saying women's bike often have different gearing to mens / unisex.

DonDaddyD

I'd have asked lost_in_thought.... she was good at answering these things.

Long legs, short arms?
How old is your sister?
Short legs, long arms?
Everything's all in proportion?

And then there is the saddle (remember the punani thread) - make sure to recommend that she gets one with the 'lip gap' i.e. the centre of the seat cut out (like them selle italia saddles) as apparently some girls can feel that.

Remember to get her the Assos bibtights... you know the ones. Tell her its from Kieran Burns....

ETA: If you've ever looked at your sister and... buried that thought deep down then recommend a Bianchi. Bianchi's add 2 points to the overall female fitness scale score. Therefore a woman whose scores a 5 on the fitness scale becomes a 7 if she rides a Bianchi. Should she get off the Bianchi and into your bed, then you've slept with a 5. If the Bianchi is also in yoru bedroom she's back up to a 7. FACT!

cyclingprop

She wants this: http://www.trekdemosale.co.uk/888/

veronese68

Don't, whatever else you do, let her buy a Bianchi. I hear girls on Bianchis attract wierd cycling stalker types.
I'm not convinced that the geometry is all that different for a girl, saddle excepted. Assuming she doesn't need a particularly small frame.

kelsen

suzyb wrote:

Am I correct in saying women's bike often have different gearing to mens / unisex.

That is correct. The gear indicator found on the shifter of a women's bike reads: Easy, Quite Hard, It's too hot/cold, Need a rest, It's all your fault!

suzyb

kelsen wrote:

suzyb wrote:

Am I correct in saying women's bike often have different gearing to mens / unisex.

That is correct. The gear indicator found on the shifter of a women's bike reads: Easy, Quite Hard, It's too hot/cold, Need a rest, It's all your fault!

My bike is broken then. It doesn't have anything lower than "Need a rest".

junglist_matty

Got my girlfriend a Trek Lexa C, which is the cheapest of the Lexa range, but it's a solid road bike for the amount of riding she does.... She's happy with it which I guess is good enough to say good things about it

phy2sll2

Women's specific frames have a shorter wheelbase. Something to do with girls having shorter limbs on average.

veronese68

phy2sll2 wrote:

Women's specific frames have a shorter wheelbase. Something to do with girls having shorter limbs on average.

Isn't that just to make them easier to park?

bunter

My wife bought a standard Cannondale Synapse 2013 as the women's cannondale she wanted was taking months to come through. It seems to fit her really well and she looks good on it I think. We got the lbs to fit a cassette with a lower bottom gear rather than a triple at the front as again wanting a triple chainset seems to really limit your choices. Womens specific bikes seem to be more expensive in general than mens so if you find a 'mens' bike that you like and fits you will get better value.

Green Brompton

I have a man's road bike, Ridley Icarus. Around £800 (plus the CTW discount)... I use it for commuting, racing, and social rides. I was told that over a certain height (5ft 6), the benefits of having a woman's road bike are minimal... if she does go for a man's frame, ask for a women's specific saddle... best to go to a decent shop where they'll spend the time making sure it's the right fit etc etc... Pearson's were great.

EKE_38BPM

suzyb wrote:

I think it depends on the size / shape of the woman whether female specific is better. I have to go for a women's bike because they don't make mens small enough but if your sister is more "average" then she may be able to find a unisex bike to suit.

Suzy, please get your terminology right. You are not below average, you are niche.

notsoblue

We're passing by a few bike shops this weekend and will be trying out some of the bikes recommended above. She's about 5'6", 5'7" I think, so will try out some of the mens bikes.

Looks like tiagra/105 is doable for alloy frames.

Thanks guys and girls!

greg66_tri_v2.0

notsoblue wrote:

1) Are female specific bikes worth restricting your choice for?

If you believe the manufacturers who market such frames, yes. If you believe the ones that don't, no.

FWIW, when I watched the women's Oly road race I didn't see too many women-specific frames.

I know you mentioned C2W, but for £1000 these days I'd look to buy a second hand bike, or even a frame and source the components separately.

tailwindhome

notsoblue wrote:

We're passing by a few bike shops this weekend and will be trying out some of the bikes recommended above. She's about 5'6", 5'7" I think, so will try out some of the mens bikes.

Looks like tiagra/105 is doable for alloy frames.

Thanks guys and girls!

If she's XS in men's sizing it may be worth checking for/ holding on for sale bargains...

notsoblue

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

I know you mentioned C2W, but for £1000 these days I'd look to buy a second hand bike, or even a frame and source the components separately.

Yep, its what I would do, but she wants to take advantage of C2W, and doesn't care about cycling enough (yet) to stump up the capital for a build or 2nd hand. Perhaps for future upgrades

kelsen

notsoblue wrote:

Yep, its what I would do, but she wants to take advantage of C2W, and doesn't care about cycling enough (yet) to stump up the capital for a build or 2nd hand. Perhaps for future upgrades

Poor girl just wants the easy option of getting a new bike and you're thinking of dumping her already?! That's cold man!

Applespider

notsoblue wrote:

My sister is looking knock her cycling up a notch and move from a hybrid to a road bike. She has an 8 mile each way commute, and would like to ride more at the weekend for sport. She's looking for something within the Cycle To Work budget (up to a grand)

I don't have a brother but this sounds v like me right now. I have a Trek 2.1 WSD that I use on summer days and a hybrid for year-round commuting. Now I want to use my 'cycle to work' to upgrade to a year-round road bike that I can fit mudguards and a rack. In WSD, that seems to mean that I am left with Trek Lexas (hate the flowers and/or gold/silver bar tape) or the odd Jamis since the majority don't have rack mounts. And at around 5'3", it's pretty much a WSD or end up with my hands stretched on unisex handlebars - which kinda rules out the cyclocross too.

Any idea on men's bikes that come in extra small and which might have a shorter top tube so that my hand stretch doesn't feel quite so bad?

greg66_tri_v2.0

I've got my eldest daughter on a 48cm (used) Cervelo. She's 5'1" with a short body (29") inseam. She has a 10cm (maybe 9 - not sure) stem. She's a little bit stretched out, but not massively.

Emma Pooley rides the same sized frame, and is the same height. eBay is your friend.

Applespider

Thanks for that - I got my Trek from eBay. This time I want to use the cycle to work deal ideally but obviously, only if I find a bike that suits!

DonDaddyD

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

I've got my eldest daughter on a 48cm (used) Cervelo. She's 5'1" with a short body (29") inseam. She has a 10cm (maybe 9 - not sure) stem. She's a little bit stretched out, but not massively.

Emma Pooley rides the same sized frame, and is the same height. eBay is your friend.

Recession not reached you yet has it Greg....

I'm all full of haterade today....

DonDaddyD

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

I've got my eldest daughter on a 48cm (used) Cervelo. She's 5'1" with a short body (29") inseam. She has a 10cm (maybe 9 - not sure) stem. She's a little bit stretched out, but not massively.

Emma Pooley rides the same sized frame, and is the same height. eBay is your friend.

Recession not reached you yet has it Greg....

I'm all full of haterade today....

greg66_tri_v2.0

DonDaddyD wrote:

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

I've got my eldest daughter on a 48cm (used) Cervelo. She's 5'1" with a short body (29") inseam. She has a 10cm (maybe 9 - not sure) stem. She's a little bit stretched out, but not massively.

Emma Pooley rides the same sized frame, and is the same height. eBay is your friend.

Recession not reached you yet has it Greg....

I'm all full of haterade today....

In my defence, I bought the frame used from ebay, dug through my old gruppo bits, used an old saddle, retired some wheels from one of my bikes and bought what I didn't have from ebay. The chainset was tricky as I had to hunt for a small ish large ring. But the bulk of it is second hand.

PS. Mrs 66's Cervelo came from ebay too, but that was fully built

DonDaddyD

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

I've got my eldest daughter on a 48cm (used) Cervelo. She's 5'1" with a short body (29") inseam. She has a 10cm (maybe 9 - not sure) stem. She's a little bit stretched out, but not massively.

Emma Pooley rides the same sized frame, and is the same height. eBay is your friend.

Recession not reached you yet has it Greg....

I'm all full of haterade today....

In my defence, I bought the frame used from ebay, dug through my old gruppo bits, used an old saddle, retired some wheels from one of my bikes and bought what I didn't have from ebay. The chainset was tricky as I had to hunt for a small ish large ring. But the bulk of it is second hand.

PS. Mrs 66's Cervelo came from ebay too, but that was fully built

You should purchase shares in Cervelo.

Blonde Cyclist

I'm 5ft4 and really recommend against the "slightly stretched" approach. I had a 51cm Specialized which was just too big and I started getting upper back pain. The only solution was to put a v short stem on which made handling over lively and riding the bike less thin than it should have been. I'm not sure what to recommend here as I don't know about pannier racks but if you can work out what top tube length you need then you can study geometry charts to get the right sized bike. It's what I did for my track bike as there are virtually no women's specific ones there!

davis

Applespider wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

My sister is looking knock her cycling up a notch and move from a hybrid to a road bike. She has an 8 mile each way commute, and would like to ride more at the weekend for sport. She's looking for something within the Cycle To Work budget (up to a grand)

I don't have a brother but this sounds v like me right now. I have a Trek 2.1 WSD that I use on summer days and a hybrid for year-round commuting. Now I want to use my 'cycle to work' to upgrade to a year-round road bike that I can fit mudguards and a rack. In WSD, that seems to mean that I am left with Trek Lexas (hate the flowers and/or gold/silver bar tape) or the odd Jamis since the majority don't have rack mounts. And at around 5'3", it's pretty much a WSD or end up with my hands stretched on unisex handlebars - which kinda rules out the cyclocross too.

Any idea on men's bikes that come in extra small and which might have a shorter top tube so that my hand stretch doesn't feel quite so bad?

Ummm Specialized Dolce looks like it's available with pretty short top tubes (shortest 498mm, apparently). It's not exactly covered in flowers, but I think the paint job's still a bit "there there, pet"...

Edit: Bah, missed the rack-mount requirement. P-clips not an option?

Cafewanda

You lot stop whinging about sizing. You are only allowed to complain if you are 4'11. Bike options are very very slim for us shrimps

suzyb

Cafewanda wrote:

You lot stop whinging about sizing. You are only allowed to complain if you are <= 5ft. Bike options are very very slim for us shrimps

ftfy