Ladies bikes

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  • Thought this a more appropiate place for this. A finished project for my girlfriend.


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  • Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice! can I have it back now..??? Hahaha

  • Haha thanks Downlo, she was pretty chuffed!

  • What wheels are they.? and whats the block on the back. I'm looking to turn my girlfriends old holdsworth back into a geared machine.

  • They are just a pair of cheap wheels I picked up of the forum, rigida rims on unbranded hubs. Its a 8 speed block not sure of the range. I would have liked to but a hub gear on it for cleanes, but couldnt afford it.

  • Hopefully Mrs Free will be joining the sisterhood next year


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  • That pic is full of Christmas Win!

  • So I've (sort of) been green lighted to get me some gears (woo!). I would like a decent ish road bike to take to the Australian flats where they have an awesome stretch called Beach Road that can go on for miles and miles (kilometers). So I'm looking for advice on what to get to fit a woman with long legs and short body and what groupset for my tiny hands so I can reach the levers.
    I'd like some really nice alu or semi decent carbon, not too tight as I'd like to go far, but not too relaxed as I'd like to do some nippy stuff too.

    Secondly, does anyone know of any decent websites / forums to find second hand womens bikes?

    Lastly, Julia, are you ready to sell me your Pinarello? ;)

    I <3 bikes.

    PPS, sorry about the avatar, it's an in-joke.

  • they have an awesome stretch called Beach Road that can go on for miles and miles (kilometers)

    Its length varies a bit, doesn't it? ;)

    PPS, sorry about the avatar, it's an in-joeke.

    Fixed.

  • So I've (sort of) been green lighted to get me some gears (woo!). I would like a decent ish road bike to take to the Australian flats where they have an awesome stretch called Beach Road that can go on for miles and miles (kilometers). So I'm looking for advice on what to get to fit a woman with long legs and short body and what groupset for my tiny hands so I can reach the levers.
    I'd like some really nice alu or semi decent carbon, not too tight as I'd like to go far, but not too relaxed as I'd like to do some nippy stuff too.

    Secondly, does anyone know of any decent websites / forums to find second hand womens bikes?

    Lastly, Julia, are you ready to sell me your Pinarello? ;)

    I <3 bikes.

    PPS, sorry about the avatar, it's an in-joke.

    I can't really advise on road bikes beyond the ones I've owned (although I loved the Pinarello when I owned it and Julia has made it substantially better so I suppose that's at least a relevant recommendation...) but I did just spend a while trying to think of decent websites/forums for secondhand women's bikes and totally failed to come up with any. I think it just requires a lot of patience and trawling through Bikeradar/BC classifieds etc. I got my Trek (this one) through the CTC forum but that was a bit of an anomaly; it's mostly tourers and hybrids on there. When I was looking for one I found a few on tri and cycling club forums, but again, they don't come up that often. Maybe someone else will have some more useful suggestions.

    My Trek is awesome for comfort over long distances (till you start falling asleep at the 200 mile mark) and I have the same short body long legs small hands thing (or short arms, or something; I dunno); it has adjustable reach shifters but I haven't actually worked out how to set them up so I'm entirely comfortable braking from the hoods. I think we ride the same size so you're welcome to borrow it sometime if you want to.

  • Wicksie, this might be of help for you;

    http://www.lfgss.com/post2254764-229.html

  • Yeah saw that, thanks Ed. Will give it another read.

    I forgot she said you owned that pinarello TCB. I had a ride and loved it. She mentioned she might be selling so fingers crossed.
    That Trek looks really good too actually and it's nice to know that SRAM aren't the only adjustable levers out there. Would be great to have a go on yours one day.
    Shame there isn't a website / forum for this, I guess I'll carry on searching.

    Just wondering if I do need to search for women's specific or if I could dial in a mens bike with tiny stems and the like.

  • JEALZ! I want a road bike! Need to sort out storage issues first though!

  • Morning :-)

    Having a bit of a dilema, my missus want's a new bike, but she's a bit of an odd size. She's 5'2, but she's only got short legs and a longer body (if that makes sense!)

    She currently has a 15" Globe hybrid, but want's to upgrade to something a bit sportier like a Cannondale Quick. The trouble she's having is that the frame sizes for women seem to be the other way round, designed for longer legs and shorter bodys. The 15" Globe stand over / saddle height is perfect, but the reach is far to short, the saddle is all the way back and its all a bit hunched still.

    Anyone got any good recommendations, I think we worked it out that she needs a reach of 63/64cm from Saddle to Bars.

    For example, this has a 55cm Top tube for "Tall", but the stand over height is too much, needs to be more in the region of 70~. So that would be "petite", but that would need a 120mm stem the steering is going to be a bit "lazy".
    http://www.cannondale.com/2012/bikes/womens/recreation/2012-quick-womens-4-21041

    Any Tips?

    ta

  • The general change in geo for womens' bikes is to shorten the top tube, so you may be stuck if you are only looking at womens' bikes. A small or extra small man's bike should have the longer top tube you want.

    Look at the geometry of the Specialized Vita (ladies) vs the Sirrus (Mens). The medium Vita has 44cm seat tube and 53.5cm top tube, but the small Sirrus has a 44cm seat and 57cm top tube. I would look into getting a men's small size and chopping down the bars to fit. You are more likely to get a nice sale price on the mens bikes, as they are more widely available than womens' bikes, and you'll be looking for an extreme size. If she's all set on getting a pretty ladies bike, you could always get it powdercoated in a colour of her choice.

  • ^ This

    I have a long body in relation to my legs and get on fine with my [men's / non-gender specific] Specialized Allez - WSD just wasn't comfortable when I tried it.

  • Thanks for that, We popped to the local shop, and against the shop assistant's advice tried her on some of the mens. One of the Trek ones fitted perfect, where as none of the ladies ones really worked. :-)

  • Excellent job, some of the men one will be perfectly fine once you changed the stem (for example), of course most of the women tend not to like the idea of spending a little more to compensate.

  • Ed, are you calling us cheap?

  • ^^^ Fight! Fight! LOL

    Ed, what is the basis for your statement? That has been your experience? It could be that some women don't know/haven't been told they can make any changes to the bike they want to buy. I know I wasn't. Come to think of it, I was sold bikes that were way too big for me and it was on this site I learned about sizing for 'titch' folk and adapting various bike parts for a more comfortable fit.

  • it my experience with everyone, rather than the female, it just the notion of buying a new stem instead of 'exchanging' it put them off (same with tyres, they tend to be surprised that they have to buy new tyres on their MTB so they can commute on it instead of exchanging it).

  • Ok. I might be more accepting of making those changes as I'm below average height so, like shortening trousers back in the day, I automatically expect to spend more than the initial cost of the bike.

  • A lots of staff at chain bicycle shop have a target to meet, and are not always fussed about getting a perfect fit as long they can ride it, but even though I don't make much commission, I'm always insisting on getting the right fit for each customer.

    I've not had a dissatisfied customers since I started last year and I aimed to keep it that way.

  • We need more of you in those shops. I'd have had the right bike(s) 2 years ago if the staff had your ideals.

  • it my experience with everyone, rather than the female, it just the notion of buying a new stem instead of 'exchanging' it put them off (same with tyres, they tend to be surprised that they have to buy new tyres on their MTB so they can commute on it instead of exchanging it).

    Cyclists are famously stingy. It's been a stereotype for God knows how long. :)

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Ladies bikes

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