I have a few bikes. My wife has one - a beautiful old schwinn cruiser. But it is heavy and has only three gears. It is just not practical for her to ride in our hills around the house.
So, my wife has now said a few times that she wants a real bike for her birthday. This makes me excited to no end. But I am holding back so as not to push her. She must make her own decision to to it. I am going to pull the trigger for her birthday in a month or so. How do I do this?
I have seen this play out before in bike shops when either friends or spouses are brought along as an “expert”. They end up buying the bike the expert wants not the buyer. As we surfed around the internet, the bikes she seems to like are hybrids. Like the trek 7000s and such. She did find a CX bike in store once and said that looked like fun. She likes the fatter tires as she thinks it will be easier to ride. She likes sitting up right more, even though she has never ridden a bike with drops. She likes “mountain bike” style handle bars. She want platform pedals.
So, I have kept my mouth shut so far. But my basic belief is that the people out there who think we are crazy for the speeds and distances we ride are because they ride crappy gear and wrong bikes that usually dont fit. I have been known to say that I dont bat an eyelash at riding 100 miles, but if you put me on a hybrid with platform pedals, I would think its crazy too.
I want to be involved in the bike buying, just because I have seen too many people buy bikes that are either the wrong size, or wrong purpose for what they want to do. But I dont want to push her into something either. How do I walk this balance?
BTW - I am pretty convinced that a CX bike is the way to go for her. I dont want to spend much money, because I have a feeling it will get pretty minimal use, but I want something that is quality enough to be fun. 500-1000 bucks or so. any suggestions?
I would never let someone else by a bike for me. But I dont trust her in a store by herself either. Even if she just does not know the right questions to ask. So far my best idea for a plan is to go to our LBS and start test riding bikes until she finds something that she likes.
Thanks for your help and suggestions. I figure others have done this, or LBS employees might have some suggestions too.
Maybe try talking to her about all this? Tell her what kind of bike you think she may like, and why, and then listen to what she says. Perhaps you’re right on, or maybe she has other ideas. You could also explain what the differences are between various types of bikes if that would help her decide. If she’s asking for a bike, she has some ideas about what she wants to do with it. If it’s going to get used, it’s going to have to appeal to her, whatever type of riding she wants to do. Good luck.
go into the bike shop with her, as the ‘resident expert spouse’, mention that you’re a triathlete, then ask a lot of questions about frame aerodynamics and rolling resistance. The shop guys will totally love you!
Seriously, LBS’s are pretty well-equipped to deal with the average consumer. She sounds like a candidate for a flat-bar road bike. Most of the manufacturers have something out there in that category. Sure, I prefer drop bars, too–but for new riders, flat bars tend to offer more control. If she’s not comfortable on the bike initially, chances are she won’t ride it.
First , you got hills in your house? Must be a nice house. Now on to your question’s. Definetly go with her. Bring her to your bike shop. Have them fit her to the bike. Hopefully she is around your size so you can steer her towards a bike that you like and would use. You feel it will not get much use so at least somebody will. Try to make every idea you have feel like hers. Sounds like you know what you are doing . Like you said she needs to be comfortable to like riding explain this to her.
**I want to be involved in the bike buying, just because I have seen too many people buy bikes that are either the wrong size, or wrong purpose for what they want to do. But I dont want to push her into something either. How do I walk this balance? **
So you want a salesperson to get her into a bike that wont fit? Go to somebody you trust. Tell her this is the guy that takes care of me and he knows about all anyone can know about bikes.
Mine wanted one and we got her a scott. The key is to allow her to ride with her friends and such!!! She loves her scott road bike. Also for my wife it meant alot to be willing to spend the money to get her a nice bike and not some beater she has heard me and my friends make fun of certain levels of bikes and she knew what was good.
Its sounds like you think she’d ultimately be happiest on a nice road bike.
Get her to ride some in addition to hybrid and CX bikes. My wife and I were in a similar situation this summer. Unlike you, I pushed too hard and talked her into a road bike.
I am lucky that she loves it. We compromised though. She has platform pedals on it till she gets more comfortable and does almost all her riding on the hoods. She was afraid of the thin tires as well, but once she got on a bike that fit she realized handling wasn’t an issue.
Do you think she will really go from a cruiser to riding on the hoods or the drops? Remember to try not to project too much of your wants and needs into the equation. To me the next step up from the cruiser would be a semi-upright, flat bar sort of road bike like a Cannondale Quick.
**So far my best idea for a plan is to go to our LBS and start test riding bikes until she finds something that she likes. **
In my opinion, that’s your only option. I did this last year with my wife… The first bike she rode she would’ve bought had I not been there. The challenge is helping someone know what it’s supposed to feel like… kind of like describing how to fit athletic shoes (tight, but not too tight, but not too loose, etc.). So I made her go to 2 or 3 shops, ride nearly every bike in her price range at every shop, and then wait a day or two to decide. BTW, wait until you see what kind of components they put on a $500 - $1000 bike.
Bought my wife a bike last year… dropped 2 grand on a nice carbon road bike… she liked the fit… she use to have a cross-bike… but, it only allowed one hand position… at least the road bike allows 3 different places to put her hands… we ride together when I need a true “recovery” ride. Don’t for get the $$$ you’ll drop for all the accessories… jacket, jersey (long and short sleeve), gloves, helmet, new sunglasses, shoes, socks, shorts, tights, blah, blah, blah… and she buys for looks… as I buy for function… The bike has been hanging in the garage for the past 8 months… hmmm
Thank you all for the input. I think test rides are in our future. I always feel a bit guilty doing these. I try to give the shops as much money as I can, but with the least amount of work. Test rides seem like bad pay off for them. Change the pedals, fit the bike, and then have to clean the bike (Portland in the winter) and often without a sale (multiple shops to ride different makes, only one gets the sale). Whats the etiquette here?
I wish we were the same size. That would be perfect, more bikes for me. But no. I think the flat bar road bike is a good option. I must remember that I have enough stems, and even bars laying around to change things up as we need. As long as I get the right frame, I can customize as she grows. I figure the low end components will work fine if she does not ride much. But if she does, they will wear out soon and I can replace them with either stuff I already have, or better yet, upgrade my bikes and replace hers with my handmedowns.
“Honey, I need to buy some sram red for my Scott because your shifters are worn out. You will get some nice ultegra with only 30,000 miles on it. Just like brand new”.
How tall is she? I will sell you a trek FX 2008 bike (black 17.5) for 350 +shipping. It has a wireless computer on it, and it was only ridden 42 miles.
My wife has a hybrid and a road bike. She love the hybrid for riding around the neighborhood with the dog and our daughter. There are trails and paths around our neighborhood where you cannot take a road bike. Since nice hybrids can be found for < $500, they’re a great starting point for somebody that has never ridden before.
Even if you got here a road bike, it would be a long time before she could even begin to keep up with you. So if she is interested in a hybrid, you should get her one rather than a road bike that she will end up not riding.
My pimp got a tricked mountain bike on ebay…then decided she really needed a stimulating roadie, which she got on ebay…then finally decided to go with a macked triathlon bike. It wasn’t necessarily that she didn’t know what she wanted, but little-by-little her wants changed. She was addicted to the carbon demon, graphite yam-yam, titanium trifles. She became a bike slut. When she ended up in triathlon territory, she was hooked enough to pull her own trigger on a pimped ride. Buying bargain, meant I didn’t do as much whoring around to pay for her jones.
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I have seen this play out before in bike shops when either friends or spouses are brought along as an “expert”. They end up buying the bike the expert wants not the buyer. As we surfed around the internet, the bikes she seems to like are hybrids. Like the trek 7000s and such. She did find a CX bike in store once and said that looked like fun. She likes the fatter tires as she thinks it will be easier to ride. She likes sitting up right more, even though she has never ridden a bike with drops. She likes “mountain bike” style handle bars. She want platform pedals.
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BTW - I am pretty convinced that a CX bike is the way to go for her. I dont want to spend much money, because I have a feeling it will get pretty minimal use, but I want something that is quality enough to be fun. 500-1000 bucks or so. any suggestions?
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I went through a bike buying exercise with my wife last year. This is what we ended up with: http://www.trekbikes.com/women/wsd_products/bikes/bike_path/75fxwsd/
It’s relatively light, in your price range, rolls well on 32mm road tires, has relaxed wmns geometry (short and upright), straight bars, MTB tripple gearing for hills but still big enough gears to go fast on the flats. We were a bit in doubt about tire choice so we bought her a set of semi-knobby CX tires but we never put them on. The 32mm road tires handle park trails well and she will not ride any rocky trails.
Now we can go out for a 2 hour ride together holding a nice pace, me on my MTB and her on the “bike path” Trek.
Watch out for aggressive geometry on a lot of MTB and most all CX bikes. They are designed for cyclists (most often male), not non-cycling spouses out for an easy ride. A long top tube and low front end will be uncomfortable for untrained riders.
My wife got a nice carbon fiber road bike with clipless pedals. Learning the clipping and unclipping process was long, frustrating, and painful. But well worth it. She now races triathlons and we go all over with our bikes. We don’t ride together since we ride at different speeds, but we go on rides where we both do our own loops and see each other along the way. My wife really loves the fact that, though she is not fast, she has the ability to go on biking trips. In addition to weekly long rides, she’s raced in Thailand, completed two Ironmans and a few centuries, and we spent a week in Maine riding every day. Before buying the nice bike, my wife did not know how to ride - she credits that fact that we spent too much money on it for her being motivated enough to learn to ride and not quit when she had initial setbacks.
See what your wife is interested in ultimately doing - if she maybe wants to race some time or wants to go on a biking vacation, or ride with you then I would see if she wants to splurge on something nice. If she does, I would also recommend an indoor trainer for her.
I bought my wife a bike for her birthday when we were still dating, she ended up with a Kona Blast (MTB). She knew I do tris and mtn biking, and for fun, I prefer mtn biking. We went out and got her HT MTB. I went to my LBS that I use for anything bike related, and of course they cut me a great deal. In retrospect, we could have probably gone a little tamer than we did, my only requirements were that the componentry could take a little beating and would last, didn’t have to be XT/XTR (my apologies to the SRAM fans). My biggest problem is trying to get my wife into better shape so she can go on longer and rougher rides. If she prefers road riding, and doesn’t ride even a packed trail, I’d look at an urban bike (road frame/wheels w/ flat bars). If she wants to get a little more aggressive, there are urban bikes that are outfitted w/ cyclocross style wheels. A perfect example would be Cannondale’s Quick (a touch more road) and Bad Boy (a touch more mtb) bikes (can’t go wrong with American made either).
I think you need to discuss what her goals are. If it is a 3-4 mile cruise around the hood, then a mountain bike or comfort bike seems OK. If she has any thought of moving up the food chain, then a good “real” bike is the Specialized Sequoia. It has an upright frame, adjustable handlebars, a shock absorber seat post. Very comfy for your first bike.
Thanks for all the input. I think what I am going to do is buy a helmet (she already has one, but a nicer one is needed) and some gloves and give those to her with the idea that she can exchange them for whatever she wants, and while we are there, we will start test riding. I think you all are in the right direction with your suggestions. She wants something more capable than her current cruiser. I dont think she has any desire to race or be competitive, but all of us think it would be fun to load the kid into the trailer that hooks to my bike then go for a family ride. Or even just the two of us, it doesn’t need to be a hammer fest, but if our gear is more evened out, it should be fun.
Perhaps I handicap myself with my fat tire fixie, towing a trailer.
Oh, here is a thought. I should probably make sure whatever we get her has shimano 10sp. That way we can swap wheels. Hmm. I think the price just went up. Or I guess I can swap cassettes. Do the 8 sp cassettes that I see on some of these bike work the same way? Or is the spacing different? I guess its not that important.
Don’t think you need Shimano 10sp. Remember, then you have to worry about double vs. triple, etc. Most of the “city” and “fitness” bikes use compact doubles, or mtn bike gears. If money were no option for me, I’d be riding the new Litespeed Blade for Tris, a Scott Genius on the trails, and the Cannondale Quick or Bad Boy for fun. Don’t worry about they wheels, they come with the bike. It’s easier (and cheaper) to change the tires.