Needing Female Bicycle Recommendations...

I need a bit of advice from the group: I've convinced my girlfriend
(and she seems perfectly willing!) to join me on a few of my daily
rides. Her first thought was "can I use your spare bike?" The
problem: I'm 6'4" , she's 5'4"! (I quickly convinced her that that
was a pretty bad idea. It was somewhat funny, however. Have you ever
seen a person that's never ridden a horse before try to get on a
horse? Kind of like that.... :-D )

So... we're going to go bike shopping, and I would like a few
recommendations from the group about what bike I should steer her
towards.

A bit about me: I mainly do road biking, my 'daily' (okay, it's not
been so daily lately) ride is usually about 20-30 miles. I would like
to find a bike for her that is manageable for those rides, plus has
the capability for longer rides. (When she starts riding, it will
start at a much shorter distance of course...) A couple of
considerations:

1) She wants more of a 'hybrid' bike; something where she sits
upright a little more.
2) We don't want to really spend a lot of money on the first bike.
(I'd better be sure she likes riding with me as much as she thinks she
will... ;-) )

My first thought is to try a Trek 1000C; it seems to have a good mix
of hybrid/comfort features, but has more of the road-bike mentality.
(I haven't really done a full search of simliar bikes). Does anyone
have any opinions on this bike (or similar)?

Does anyone have any good recommendations about what types of bikes we
should look for, or where to start?

Thanks!

"Chad Thompson" wrote in message
om...

My first thought is to try a Trek 1000C; it seems to have a good mix
of hybrid/comfort features, but has more of the road-bike mentality.
(I haven't really done a full search of simliar bikes). Does anyone
have any opinions on this bike (or similar)?

Does anyone have any good recommendations about what types of bikes we
should look for, or where to start?

Specialized has been carving out a big chunk of this market. The Sirrus line
for flat-bar road bikes, and the Sequoia line of road bikes with upright
geometry, adjustable stems, and extension levers for the brakes.

Worth a look.

RichC

(Chad Thompson) wrote in message . com...

1) She wants more of a 'hybrid' bike; something where she sits
upright a little more.
2) We don't want to really spend a lot of money on the first bike.
(I'd better be sure she likes riding with me as much as she thinks she
will... ;-) )

It sounds like what she might be interested in would be a Terry Susan
B. Anthony. See: http://www.terrybicycles.com/Bikes/susanb.lasso. This
bike would be ~$450 according to the Terry catelog. It is a hybrid
with a frame especially designed for women.

Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky )
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

As a female I'm skeptical of the hybrid thing....I shopped several stores
when getting my first bike and several tried to get me on a hybrid or
mountain bike simply because of my inseam length (28")

I was very lucky (and I'm thankful to this day) to have gone to a shop where
they put me on a road bike that fit (sorta--I had to go custom after a
couple of years to get a real proper fit). I ended up putting 5000 miles in
my first year and never looked back.

After more than 10 years I now have two road bikes, a mountain bike, a
touring bike, and a road tandem. I know I NEVER would have gotten past
riding around the city on bike trails if I'd started on a hybrid.

If you really want her to enjoy cycling and get involved--get her a real
road bike. Trying to keep up on a hybrid will be uninspiring and she'll
bail. Hybrids are comfortable for short rides but if you want to do longer
distances they are not comfortable. Give it your best shot and find a shop
that employs women to help her get pumped up about it and get the right
accessories --shorts, gloves, etc. to keep her comfortable. Maybe try
renting first?

It's just my opinion....feel free to disagree...

ie

"Rich Clark" wrote in message
...

"Chad Thompson" wrote in message
om...

My first thought is to try a Trek 1000C; it seems to have a good mix
of hybrid/comfort features, but has more of the road-bike mentality.
(I haven't really done a full search of simliar bikes). Does anyone
have any opinions on this bike (or similar)?

Does anyone have any good recommendations about what types of bikes we
should look for, or where to start?

Specialized has been carving out a big chunk of this market. The Sirrus
line
for flat-bar road bikes, and the Sequoia line of road bikes with upright
geometry, adjustable stems, and extension levers for the brakes.

Worth a look.

RichC

On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 23:57:55 GMT, henry wrote:
accessories --shorts, gloves, etc. to keep her comfortable. Maybe try
renting first?

Don't know about other areas, but around here, rentals are only available
in hybrids.

--
Rick Onanian

"S. Anderson" wrote in message .. .

snip

I've always thought the Giant OCR3 is a good entry level bike that's pretty
cheap. Maybe consider that one as well. I don't know about your
girlfriend, but most women have a hard time with the brakes. This is purely
an observation after working in a shop for 10 years. It can be a REAL
sticking point. If she says she's uncomfortable with the brakes, seriously
consider a Hybrid. Don't force your feelings on things that you like onto
her..she may lack many of the riding skills you have.

Thanks! That's good advice, and brakes weren't something I would have
likely considered.

Otherwise, I think
you've got two good bikes there. The 1000c seems to be very upright for a
road bike. You can do the same with the OCR3 by putting a stem with more
rise on there. IMHO, both Trek and Giant are excellent bikes for the money.


We'll be making some trips to a few LBSs; the one that I purchased
from carries Trek and Giant, mainly, with some Specialized. I'll take
your advice into consideration!

Thanks,

- chad

So Chad,

Did you end up getting the Trek 1000C for your girlfriend? Did she
like it? Did she hate it? Did you ride it for a while, and what did
you think of it? Or maybe you ended up going with an alternate model.
I am thinking of picking up the Trek 1000C and would love to hear
about your experiences with it to date. Do tell.

Thank You

From: Chad Thompson )
Subject: Needing Female Bicycle Recommendations...


View this article only
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.misc
Date: 2003-07-23 11:10:56 PST


I need a bit of advice from the group: I've convinced my girlfriend
(and she seems perfectly willing!) to join me on a few of my daily
rides. Her first thought was "can I use your spare bike?" The
problem: I'm 6'4" , she's 5'4"! (I quickly convinced her that that
was a pretty bad idea. It was somewhat funny, however. Have you ever
seen a person that's never ridden a horse before try to get on a
horse? Kind of like that.... :-D )

So... we're going to go bike shopping, and I would like a few
recommendations from the group about what bike I should steer her
towards.

A bit about me: I mainly do road biking, my 'daily' (okay, it's not
been so daily lately) ride is usually about 20-30 miles. I would like
to find a bike for her that is manageable for those rides, plus has
the capability for longer rides. (When she starts riding, it will
start at a much shorter distance of course...) A couple of
considerations:

1) She wants more of a 'hybrid' bike; something where she sits
upright a little more.
2) We don't want to really spend a lot of money on the first bike.
(I'd better be sure she likes riding with me as much as she thinks she
will... ;-) )

My first thought is to try a Trek 1000C; it seems to have a good mix
of hybrid/comfort features, but has more of the road-bike mentality.
(I haven't really done a full search of simliar bikes). Does anyone
have any opinions on this bike (or similar)?

Does anyone have any good recommendations about what types of bikes we
should look for, or where to start?

Thanks!