Need Recommendation on Bike for Wife

[TMB Drum Alum]

Hi all, I am looking for input on a bike for my wife. For the most
part we do recreational rides, with one century a year. She currently
rides a Trek 1000 fitted with a riser to bring up the bars. The
problem is, she has neck/shoulder problems which makes me think perhaps
a hybrid-type bike might be a better option. We had the bike fitted
which resulted in adding the riser, which helped somewhat. I recently
purschased a Trek 7200 for my daily commute (25 miles) and while it's
not my 5500 (obviously) I was thinking this type of bike might help her
enjoy riding more.
For shorter rides (20-30 miles) the 1000 doesn't cause her any pain,
but 30 miles or so into the century, her neck and shoulders "go out".
I am thinking that even though a hybrid doesn't have the "cool factor"
of a road bike for her, the tradeoff of a more upright position and a
smoother ride would help her maintain a more constant pace and less
pain.
The added advantage to a hybrid is that she would have an everyday bike
to ride around town on with the kids.
Any input on this would be greatly appreciated, especially from Mike J.
and other knowledgeable dealers.

 

[Nate Knutson]

TMB Drum Alum wrote:
> Hi all, I am looking for input on a bike for my wife. For the most
> part we do recreational rides, with one century a year. She currently
> rides a Trek 1000 fitted with a riser to bring up the bars. The
> problem is, she has neck/shoulder problems which makes me think perhaps
> a hybrid-type bike might be a better option. We had the bike fitted
> which resulted in adding the riser, which helped somewhat. I recently
> purschased a Trek 7200 for my daily commute (25 miles) and while it's
> not my 5500 (obviously) I was thinking this type of bike might help her
> enjoy riding more.
> For shorter rides (20-30 miles) the 1000 doesn't cause her any pain,
> but 30 miles or so into the century, her neck and shoulders "go out".
> I am thinking that even though a hybrid doesn't have the "cool factor"
> of a road bike for her, the tradeoff of a more upright position and a
> smoother ride would help her maintain a more constant pace and less
> pain.
> The added advantage to a hybrid is that she would have an everyday bike
> to ride around town on with the kids.
> Any input on this would be greatly appreciated, especially from Mike J.
> and other knowledgeable dealers.

Depending on what you have now and her/your wild feelings about how far
off the bike currently is from fitting her, a shorter stem in addition
to the riser may do the trick. It also may not. One of my favorite
bikes available right now is the Terry Classic. It would probably solve
all her problems and is a great bike, but it's kinda pricey.

 

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

> part we do recreational rides, with one century a year. She currently
> rides a Trek 1000 fitted with a riser to bring up the bars. The
> problem is, she has neck/shoulder problems which makes me think perhaps
> a hybrid-type bike might be a better option. We had the bike fitted
> which resulted in adding the riser, which helped somewhat. I recently
> purschased a Trek 7200 for my daily commute (25 miles) and while it's
> not my 5500 (obviously) I was thinking this type of bike might help her
> enjoy riding more.
> For shorter rides (20-30 miles) the 1000 doesn't cause her any pain,
> but 30 miles or so into the century, her neck and shoulders "go out".
> I am thinking that even though a hybrid doesn't have the "cool factor"
> of a road bike for her, the tradeoff of a more upright position and a
> smoother ride would help her maintain a more constant pace and less
> pain.
> The added advantage to a hybrid is that she would have an everyday bike
> to ride around town on with the kids.
> Any input on this would be greatly appreciated, especially from Mike J.
> and other knowledgeable dealers.

Is her current Trek 1000 a WSD model, which already has a shorter top tube
than the guy's version? If not, then you might not have to leave the
"road"-type bike behind. Combining the WSD (women specific design) with the
Pilot (taller front end) style might get her what she needs. The advantages
to road bikes on longer rides come from being able to move your hands around
on the bars to alleviate pressure and improve comfort.

Otherwise, if you've got to go really short (forward reach), Trek just came
out with a WSD series for the hybrids. I believe the new 7.5FX is available
in that style, and would give her something that has nice components and a
fairly light weight (and doesn't ride like a cruiser).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

[Steve W]

what about one of these
http://www.hpvelotechnik.com/produkte/spirit/index_e.html

SW


"TMB Drum Alum" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi all, I am looking for input on a bike for my wife. For the most
> part we do recreational rides, with one century a year. She currently
> rides a Trek 1000 fitted with a riser to bring up the bars. The
> problem is, she has neck/shoulder problems which makes me think perhaps
> a hybrid-type bike might be a better option. We had the bike fitted
> which resulted in adding the riser, which helped somewhat. I recently
> purschased a Trek 7200 for my daily commute (25 miles) and while it's
> not my 5500 (obviously) I was thinking this type of bike might help her
> enjoy riding more.
> For shorter rides (20-30 miles) the 1000 doesn't cause her any pain,
> but 30 miles or so into the century, her neck and shoulders "go out".
> I am thinking that even though a hybrid doesn't have the "cool factor"
> of a road bike for her, the tradeoff of a more upright position and a
> smoother ride would help her maintain a more constant pace and less
> pain.
> The added advantage to a hybrid is that she would have an everyday bike
> to ride around town on with the kids.
> Any input on this would be greatly appreciated, especially from Mike J.
> and other knowledgeable dealers.
>

 

[A Muzi]

TMB Drum Alum wrote:

> Hi all, I am looking for input on a bike for my wife. For the most
> part we do recreational rides, with one century a year. She currently
> rides a Trek 1000 fitted with a riser to bring up the bars. The
> problem is, she has neck/shoulder problems which makes me think perhaps
> a hybrid-type bike might be a better option. We had the bike fitted
> which resulted in adding the riser, which helped somewhat. I recently
> purschased a Trek 7200 for my daily commute (25 miles) and while it's
> not my 5500 (obviously) I was thinking this type of bike might help her
> enjoy riding more.
> For shorter rides (20-30 miles) the 1000 doesn't cause her any pain,
> but 30 miles or so into the century, her neck and shoulders "go out".
> I am thinking that even though a hybrid doesn't have the "cool factor"
> of a road bike for her, the tradeoff of a more upright position and a
> smoother ride would help her maintain a more constant pace and less
> pain.
> The added advantage to a hybrid is that she would have an everyday bike
> to ride around town on with the kids.
> Any input on this would be greatly appreciated, especially from Mike J.
> and other knowledgeable dealers.

Women generally prefer a higher handlebar, all else being
equal, and especially non -competitive -athletes will
commonly ask for 2 or 3 inches above the saddle. We
sometimes remove another shop's ultra short horizontal stem
in favor of a horizontally longer but vertically much higher
position. Disregard any comments about looking at the front
hub over or under the stem. Bring that bar up until she's
comfortable and don't forget to tip the bar up a bit so her
fingers are in a straight line with her forearm. People
with small hands are unable to shift modern Ergo/STi when
the shift lever is angled low, especially STi front upshifts.
That may require an adapter or a change to threaded fork-
most modern bikes cannot otherwise be adjusted to a
significant subset of riders.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

 

[Johnny Sunset]

TMB Drum Alum wrote:
> Hi all, I am looking for input on a bike for my wife....

Post pictures of your wife and see what bikes are offered in trade.

--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley

 

[Johnny Sunset]

Steve W wrote:
> what about one of these
> http://www.hpvelotechnik.com/produkte/spirit/index_e.html

Hush! You are not supposed to reveal the secret of comfort to the
upright masses.

--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley

 

[Road Man]

My wife loves her Breezer Liberty. For less than $1000 you get a
mostly Shimano gruppo, a rather rigid aluminum frame with a long
wheelbase and easy steering. She needed the hand positions closer to
her to alleviate carpal tunnel symptoms, and I put on trekker-style
bars. It also comes with fenders, a good generator/light set, 27
speed gearing that Frank Berto would be proud of, an extremely
well-fit luggage rack, and easy-to modulate V-brakes. I do think the
effective top tube is a bit long, but the trekker bars help a lot.

She would not adjust to a conventional road bike, although she liked
the strong pedal response of a good steel framed lightweight.

Ken Freeman


"TMB Drum Alum" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi all, I am looking for input on a bike for my wife. For the most
> part we do recreational rides, with one century a year. She
> currently
> rides a Trek 1000 fitted with a riser to bring up the bars. The
> problem is, she has neck/shoulder problems which makes me think
> perhaps
> a hybrid-type bike might be a better option. We had the bike fitted
> which resulted in adding the riser, which helped somewhat. I
> recently
> purschased a Trek 7200 for my daily commute (25 miles) and while
> it's
> not my 5500 (obviously) I was thinking this type of bike might help
> her
> enjoy riding more.
> For shorter rides (20-30 miles) the 1000 doesn't cause her any pain,
> but 30 miles or so into the century, her neck and shoulders "go
> out".
> I am thinking that even though a hybrid doesn't have the "cool
> factor"
> of a road bike for her, the tradeoff of a more upright position and
> a
> smoother ride would help her maintain a more constant pace and less
> pain.
> The added advantage to a hybrid is that she would have an everyday
> bike
> to ride around town on with the kids.
> Any input on this would be greatly appreciated, especially from Mike
> J.
> and other knowledgeable dealers.
>

 

[Chalo]

A Muzi wrote:
>
> That may require an adapter or a change to threaded fork-
> most modern bikes cannot otherwise be adjusted to a
> significant subset of riders.

Please help me understand why a threaded fork-- or more specifically I
imagine, a quill stem-- allows fit options unavailable to someone using
a threadless fork. Is it just the option of a stem that's 6" tall or
more but with only 2" of extension?

I've done a lot of ridiculous things to threadless sytems to get the
bars to a location the designers never anticipated, but admittedly all
of these things involved some healthy amount of radial extension.

Chalo Colina

 

[TMB Drum Alum]

Mike/All... Thanks for the input, it's good to get an honest opinion
from someone not directly involved in selling a bike
She has the men's 1000, to be honest I don't remember the rationale for
going that route other than the advice of the bike shop. We did have a
riser installed to bring the bars up to a "comfortable" level. To me,
putting a flat bar on the bike would have accomplished the same postion
since she doesn't ride in the drops. The trick is getting her on
anything other than a road bike. I put my 7200 on a trainer so she
could sit on it to see if the change in position felt better (ignoring
obvious fit issues), her first comment was "I don't want to look like a
dork" :/ I told her she'd look like a bigger dork pushing a Madone
uphill.
I guess we will continue to evaluate the options since she wanted an
"around town/fitness bike" as a second ride (since I have two, why
doesn't she?)
Thanks again