Recommendations for a "pretty" bike...
- Thread starter RC2
- Start date
And the winner is...drum roll....
A Specialized Roubaix. White w/black CF forks and seatstays. Pretty simple, almost boring.
Women - hard to predict. Two weeks ago she was absolutely emotionally attached to a bright green, orange, yellow, or maybe red bike (i.e. not looking for ultegra on an aluminum frame w/yada yada yada). It just had to be pretty.
And then she ended up loving the white and black Roubaix. "Now I can buy some pretty clothing" was part of the rational I think. She's eyeing a Spongebob Squarepants jersey...
Gotta love 'em.
A Specialized Roubaix. White w/black CF forks and seatstays. Pretty simple, almost boring.
Women - hard to predict. Two weeks ago she was absolutely emotionally attached to a bright green, orange, yellow, or maybe red bike (i.e. not looking for ultegra on an aluminum frame w/yada yada yada). It just had to be pretty.
And then she ended up loving the white and black Roubaix. "Now I can buy some pretty clothing" was part of the rational I think. She's eyeing a Spongebob Squarepants jersey...
Gotta love 'em.
Originally posted by RC2
And the winner is...drum roll....
A Specialized Roubaix. White w/black CF forks and seatstays. Pretty simple, almost boring.
Women - hard to predict. Two weeks ago she was absolutely emotionally attached to a bright green, orange, yellow, or maybe red bike (i.e. not looking for ultegra on an aluminum frame w/yada yada yada). It just had to be pretty.
And then she ended up loving the white and black Roubaix. "Now I can buy some pretty clothing" was part of the rational I think. She's eyeing a Spongebob Squarepants jersey...
Gotta love 'em.
was it just the look, or did she find the roubaix more comfortable on a test ride, perhaps due to the zertz inserts?
thanks,
phil
She's fairly new to road biking, so I'm not sure she really felt much difference in the 6-8 bikes that she rode. I did, however, reinforce to her that it would be a good bike for training and the casual sprint tri's that she's doing (think she'll be better off with a more comfortable frame and with a more stable/less quick geometry). For the 1100 bucks we paid, I think she ended up with a very good bike.
I have an older Cannondale that has a beautiful blue paint that has bright purple highlights when the sun hits it. I don't know what the effect is called, but it is very pretty. Maybe they still use that sort of finish on Cannondales...
What a funny thread this ended up being.Originally posted by RC2
Women - hard to predict.
And then she ended up loving the white and black Roubaix. "Now I can buy some pretty clothing" was part of the rational I think. She's eyeing a Spongebob Squarepants jersey...
Gotta love 'em.
Of the solid, well-made and readily available choices for a newer rider, she went ahead and agreed on the least aesthetically flamboyant frame out there. Not that it's not a good-looking bike; it's a good, bold, confident feel they got going. I'm thinking of recommending that frame to my boss, who's looking for a nice road bike to do fitness riding on.
Well, RC2, there's only one thing left to do. You have to finish what your wife started. Trade in whatever you've got and buy a bike which exudes nothing but style and class. My pick? Aside from Klein (my favorite elaborately-painted American race-bike company), DeRosa (my favorite big-shot Italian dream machine company), and Sycip (my favorite mod-artisan grassroots local company)... the only company that comes to mind when I think of truly, truly coture, Italian-silk-suit style, is Pegoretti. This is the frame builder for cutting-edge graphic artists, holier-than-thou sculptors, and heiresses, not on the basis of badass technology -- simply on the basis of excellent avant-garde patterns and graphics, in the mod-Euro tradition... magnifico.
Pegoretti's Webpage
On 1, yep, a safe fitness bike recommendation for sure.
2, ummmmm.... too late.
Ended up falling in love with another frame that I totally did not expect to. It just rode awesome, the welds/paint is beautiful (Klein-esque), a sexy sexy sexy red Ferrari.
And, hey, we're going to be able to take our matchy-matchy rides now (save the spongebob)... call me Mr never-thought-I'd-buy-a-Specialized-but-just-did.
Originally posted by RC2
On 1, yep, a safe fitness bike recommendation for sure.
2, ummmmm.... too late.
Ended up falling in love with another frame that I totally did not expect to. It just rode awesome, the welds/paint is beautiful (Klein-esque), a sexy sexy sexy red Ferrari.
And, hey, we're going to be able to take our matchy-matchy rides now (save the spongebob)... call me Mr never-thought-I'd-buy-a-Specialized-but-just-did.
You have excellent taste! That's my new bike! I especially like the matching red fork. In general, the red definitely makes it go faster.
Enjoy your new ride.
And your wife is right!!! Bianchi the bike of the greatest champions of all! Il grande Fausto Coppi, Girardelli, Gimondi, Berzin, Ullrich, Pantani... And than that celeste collour!!...
I think the base Roubaix may be what I settle on, as my first roadbike, with fitness and enjoyment as the main priorities. I'll test the Elite as well, but not sure it'll be worth the extra $ for my use.
RC2, did you haggle for the $1100 price, or was that the tagged price at your LBS? i don't suppose buying the 2nd bike helped any
...thanks,
phil
Originally posted by philbert
RC2, did you haggle for the $1100 price, or was that the tagged price at your LBS? i don't suppose buying the 2nd bike helped any
Actually I think the final price may have been 1150, she got so much other stuff -- pedals, shoes, a new (pretty) helmet, gloves, saddle bag, water cage, etc, etc -- that the bar tab was close to 1500. And they didn't haggle other than giving a smallish discount on the accessories (think that's fairly common, they don't make much on the bikes, its all the other stuff). Believe me I tried.
FYI - only thing she's not happy with are the pedals. She got some cheapish wellgo's w/o much float and her knees are bothering her a bit...
Originally posted by RC2
Actually I think the final price may have been 1150, she got so much other stuff -- pedals, shoes, a new (pretty) helmet, gloves, saddle bag, water cage, etc, etc -- that the bar tab was close to 1500. And they didn't haggle other than giving a smallish discount on the accessories (think that's fairly common, they don't make much on the bikes, its all the other stuff). Believe me I tried.
FYI - only thing she's not happy with are the pedals. She got some cheapish wellgo's w/o much float and her knees are bothering her a bit...
being new to this, and from what i've read, i'll likely go with something from speedplay. the frogs, while not designed as a road pedal, may be good for me, so that i can use a shoe that won't get me killed when i try and walk after getting off the bike for a break, etc. or are there walkable road shoes?
There are some shoes that are more "walkable" than others. In my experience (correct me if I'm wrong), these shoes are typically cheaper than the stiffer ones, mainly because they are made to allow some walking. It still is a bit awkward to walk, but nowhere near as hard to walk as in say, carbon fiber soles.
That's a very good price. When I bought my Roubaix Elite from Supergo a few weeks ago, the base Roubaix was about $1300. Of course, everything is more expensive on the west coast.
So far, I like the Look PP396 pedals that I have on my bike. Very easy to clio in/out and when you are clipped in you aren't coming out unles you twist your heel. I've ridden about 100 miles pain free with these pedals.
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