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13-03.-2004, 08:03 AM
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#1 |
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
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Looking To Buy a Bike for my Girlfriend..Need HELP!!
Hello!!! I am looking to buy a bike for my girlfriend. She is new to biking and wants to try it out so i am looking to spend around 500$ or so. I was wondering if any of the lady cyclists in here may be able to give me some advice as to where and what brands of bikes to look at in this price range...she doesn't know if she is going to really like biking yet so she doesn't want a very expensive bike...yet
 !!! anyway, if anyone out there has any suggestions on this matter i would greatly appreciate it!!!!thank you very much and have a great day eh!!!! John |
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15-03.-2004, 09:22 AM
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#2 | |
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 31
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Re: Looking To Buy a Bike for my Girlfriend..Need HELP!!
Quote:
What size is she (height especially)? Are you thinking entirely road, city traffic, some trails, nothing but dirt? |
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15-03.-2004, 10:09 PM
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#3 | |
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
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Re: Re: Looking To Buy a Bike for my Girlfriend..Need HELP!!
Quote:
she is 5' 6" ....she is looking at entirely road ...some city traffic but we can get out of the city quickly...no mtn biking or trail/gravel riding ...just road... thank you for your reply!!! John |
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15-03.-2004, 11:24 PM
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#4 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Great Smoky Mountains, TN USA
Posts: 6,569
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My wife has a Cannondale R 900 SI that she likes very much. It is very stable and also deliver good performance. It also depends on how much you are willing to spend. I woulds also recommend a custody agreement for the bike in case of a break-up, if you are going to spend a lot.
__________________
Sobriety is over rated! |
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16-03.-2004, 05:02 AM
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#5 |
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 31
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Check out these discussions:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/t26787-15-1.html http://www.cyclingforums.com/t61460.html It seems that most brands are now catering to women's sizes in various geometries ... narrower handlebars, shorter pull brakes, reach/height ratio ... stuff like that ... so it'll come down to what feels best for her. That may also be a "men's" bike depending on her proportions. There seems to be a wide range available in road bikes. I would think the bike shop to be as important as the brand decale on the crossbar (especially in the $500 range) ... find a shop that is nice and would be accomodating about swapping stuff to achieve a comfy fit. This is her first serious road bike ... it may take some experimentation for her to get the fit right. A place that will let you try saddles, or a different stems makes a huge difference. At $500 you can try for Sora components, decent wheels, ... a 2003 model may allow you a bit more bang for your buck. Good Luck! |
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16-03.-2004, 05:09 AM
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#6 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: virginia, usa
Posts: 208
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if she's not sure she's gonna like biking, maybe you should go rent bikes a couple of afternoons (both of you rent bikes, leave yours at home). i biked a mtn bike, but wasn't at all sure i was going to be interested in road biking. it helped that a friend of mine was willing to go rent road bikes with me ($5/hr, or $15/day wasn't a bad rate). it helped because we rented a couple of really bad bikes, and i think if he had not rented a bad bike too, well, i may not have realized that my potential lack of enjoyment may have to do with the quality of the rental.
but as it turns out, the rental bike, bad as it was, really made me want to bike, and made it easier to make the investment. it also made it easier for me to guage how much a used bike might be worth to me as opposed to a new bike. well, just an idea... |
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17-03.-2004, 09:04 AM
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#7 | |
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 32
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Re: Looking To Buy a Bike for my Girlfriend..Need HELP!!
Quote:
Try a Giant OCR3 - you can get last year's model for under $500. The frame is a good aluminum frame, components are okay. If she really gets into cycling, then you can do what we did - upgrade all the components, as time and money allow and you end up with a really nice bike. Or just get a new bike. But it is a great bike to start with. |
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28-04.-2004, 01:25 PM
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#8 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 202
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Re: Looking To Buy a Bike for my Girlfriend..Need HELP!!
Well: From a girls point of view...
My boyfriend did a website for the local bike shop and was able to get his tradeoff payment a new bike for me, which he surprized me with fro Christmas What a hunnie eh? Anyways, he got me a Trek 4500 http://www.rcsnowmobiles.com/temp/trek4500/ Those are some pics of it (Before I reciently sold it) Well, point being, this bike was my entry level ride. Make sure you can definately get her something decent. If she wouldn't mind, maybe purchase something used. Honestly, i just got a new ride, used and it cost me the same that I sold the Trek 4500 for, but my new bike is worth lots more then the trek. Anyways, thank you to my bf who got me my bike because I really got into XC off roading trail riding with him, and this is now something we commonly do together. Good luck with your choices! I recomend the Trek 4500 as an entry level bike. It was perfect for what I wanted it for, and it didn't cost a gold bin! Ta!
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_________________ : : : : Sandie : : : :  A Canadian Roadie Gurlie www.peafactory.com |
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28-04.-2004, 01:27 PM
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#9 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 202
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Re: Re: Looking To Buy a Bike for my Girlfriend..Need HELP!!
ops
 I just read that you said "mainly road" Ignore that last post from moi !
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_________________ : : : : Sandie : : : : A Canadian Roadie Gurlie www.peafactory.com |
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28-04.-2004, 02:36 PM
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#10 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 277
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Its hard to find a good road bike for a decent price. If you're Canadian (eh?) then I imagine $500 wouldn't go very far.
I would keep an eye out for a used bike, which are great deals. You can get a great one or two year old bike for 2/3 the price of new. The only problem with this is finding the right size which can be a problem for shorter women but at 5'6" I think you should be able to find a lot of used bikes that fit her if you are willing to buy "men's" bikes. Women's specific used road bikes are impossible to find. If your wife has "typical" female physical characteristics (long legs, shorter torso, narrow shoulders) then you should opt for getting a women's specific bike which would probably fit her better. But a lot of women are fine on men's bikes depending on their dimensions. I don't know if buying a bike as a gift is a good idea. Bike fit is really important so how do you buy the bike without your GF trying it out first? Oh, another important thing: Color. Make sure its a color your wife would like.  Last edited by Saucy : 28-04.-2004 at 02:39 PM. |
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