Which women's hybrid?

fleshtuxedo

Am getting Mrs Tuxedo a hybrid for her 40th but struggling to find anything that fits the bill. Requirements are:

1. Small - she's only 5'1" her current mountain bike has a 15" seat tube
2. Pretty - she wants it to be in a feminine colour palette i.e. pink/lilac/pale blue etc mixed with white or silver, that sort of thing
3. Performer - likely to be in the £400-700 price range, so lightweight alu frame, maybe carbon forks, decent parts. Compact chainset or triple. Disc brakes would be nice.

She'll be using it for decent road rides and occasional soft off road on towpaths etc. She's just done Leeds Liverpool canal over 2 days and next up is coast to coast, 50 miles a day ish.

The sticking point when I'm looking seems to be the second point above, I can't find any womens hybrids in suitable bracket that she'd like the look of. I thought Boardman Fi range would be a good bet but the hybrid is a bit black. Best fit I can find so far is:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/raleigh-strada- ... 5360620322

What have I missed?

The Rookie

This is a better bike for less money http://www.decathlon.co.uk/fit-500-flat ... 39798.html although the smaller sizes aren't currently available and it's not very feminine either.

Halfords sell a womens specific strada
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... ybrid-bike

The spesh Vita looks quite 'womeney' but you pay for the name
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Specialized-Vit ... _72134.htm they also do a bright lime green one amongst other colours!

fleshtuxedo

Cheers rookie, yes the spesh is the only one of those she'd like but it is pricey for the spec. I'm thinking now of the option of getting a drop bar bike and converting it...

gosport_commuter

Not of great help I know - but I would consider sticking with 26" wheels if possible (clad in thin road tyres). My missus is 2" taller and with such a small frame the 700c wheels on hers look daft and create issues with geometry and toe overlap.

Might be worth dragging her into some shops to check out what she likes, and what size wheels will work for her.

apreading

If it were me, I would get her the Spesh Vita, its a nice bike if not the best value. Value is in how much she likes it though, not the ultimate spec of the components - she wont necessarily value that in the same way as you...!

You can get it cheaper if you shop around, so the value is a little better:

http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/specia ... tAodrloAiQ

http://www.freeborn.co.uk/specialized-v ... tAodrloAiQ

The Rookie

FleshTuxedo wrote:

I'm thinking now of the option of getting a drop bar bike and converting it...

The trouble is that dropped bar bikes have a shorter top tube length as the grip position riding is further ahead of the headtube than with flats (e.g. on the hoodz is about 80mm forward of the stem clamp) and run longer stems to stabilise the steering with the narrower bars (120-130mm instead of circa 100mm), so you'd need to get a larger nominal size frame and run the seatpost slammed, plus you'll be paying for a stem (probably), bars, grips, all the controls and cables which will go some way to paying for the cost of the ladies hybrid.

MichaelW

FleshTuxedo wrote:

Requirements are:

1. Small - she's only 5'1" her current mountain bike has a 15" seat tube
2. Pretty - she wants it to be in a feminine colour palette i.e. pink/lilac/pale blue etc mixed with white or silver, that sort of thing
3. Performer - likely to be in the £400-700 price range, so lightweight alu frame, maybe carbon forks, decent parts. Compact chainset or triple. Disc brakes would be nice.

these specs are way too sensible. A light, agile, 26" (mtb) wheel pretty hybrid.
mabye islabikes

The Rookie

Just spotted on Gumtree, white Victoria in small, needs new forks, located in Birmingham though, looks a good possibility.