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Hi Nikola,
I tell people in my shop that it's worth while going into a shop and riding absolutly everything that they can until they find what's comfortable. -
although, i'm sure there are a lot of mega nice peeps in many bike shops. I just feel like I would waste their time...
I went into Evans on The Cut (by Waterloo) to try out their Specialized for sizing (thought I could go through Cycle2Work scheme, but turns out my employers don't run it anymore). The guy in there was really helpful and didn't seem to mind in the least. I think I went on a Sunday afternoon when it was a bit quiet, so maybe that helped. Basically, they don't have to know you're not going to be their best customer ever ;)
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Fixed is an Alan conversion - which I just love riding. Seat tube is 50, top tube 51. 44/18. Initially I had risers with which I continually felt like I had to push my ass to the back of the saddle all the time. I had a gut feeling that bullhorns would work, and so they did. Those and a Fizik Nicene saddle were the missing jigsaw pieces that made the bike magical for me.
Road frame is a Pinarello Monviso (Tricity's old bike) that is a lovely ride. Seat 48, top 51. Have only changed the pedals and saddle and rode it comfortably on my longest ride yet - nearly all the way to Brighton a few weekends ago ... saying that I do get a little neck ache on it occasionally, but I'm going to get a bike fit from Scherrit (Bike Whisperer) later this month so I'll see what he recommends.
[Obligatory dimensions: ~5'4", longer in the leg]
Bike currently on loan to Mrs Murtle is The Vintage ... a lovely mint green, mint condition BSA ladies racer c'80's ... similar size frame to the above, all original except tyres and brake blocks. Will be up for sale soon.
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50cm Trek, Full carbon and upgraded with Ksyrium SL wheels, CK Headset, Unfortunately pick up from Sheffield. But £200 atm, might interest someone here?
(I had a 5.2 and it was a dream to ride!) -
Why do so many women buy such heavy bikes?
In my shadow life as a cycle trainer I have taught mostly women and have got used to the fact that many of them have bikes which they can hardly pick up. What the hell are Pashleys made of? And what is their appeal? Are they bikes that seem, somehow, 'womanly'? Do shops direct women to these kind of bikes?
It's not just the labouring up hills that is a problem; it's that they can hardly carry them up to their flats so taking the bike in and out becomes a chore and discourages them. I should point out that I, also, can hardly lift a Pashley or one of its generic equivalents so it would be a problem for me too. -
Those bicycle are perfect on the flat, the ride position of the english roadster give great view of the road, easy to get on/off, chainguard completely covered the chain, etc. they appeal to the sort of person who simply need a transport to get from A to B without the need of helmet, day-glo vest, glove, rucksack (basket replace that), trouser/cycling short etc. and to lock outside their building enduring the harsh winter, it's simply a bike that you can get on and cycle off to the shop.
I can defintely understand the appeal of such bicycle to them (as well as to the blokes), especially after riding in Amsterdam.
Unfortuantely, the keys different is Amsterdam, it's flat, small, straightforward whose only major hill that every cyclists in Amsterdam have to attack are merely bridge, whether in London the average commuter cycle a much further distance than the average commuter in Amsterdam (despite the huge number of cyclists in Amsterdam compare to London), as well as having hill that'd be a struggle to go up and down.
The other problem is that those kind of bicycles are almost design to never set foot indoor in it's lifetime, not a great idea given the current rate of bicycle thieves in London at the moment.
Also certain company like Pashley somehow decided that their bicycle are perfect and see no need to improved it as technology goes by, they still stand by their flexy heavy steel bicycle with steel wheels, and even with the 3 speeds hubs, it's sometime not quite enough for London's famous London, fine in the 1950's, but not so much in 2010.
There are excellent alternative than Pashley for example, like the Azor Ameland which is a million time better than Pashley in term of design, feature and technology, it got the obvious much needed change like an alu frame over the steel that not only provide the reduction in weight but the additional stiffness for instance;
Not just Azor, but Koga Miyata, Fahrrad Manufaktur, Retrovelo, Workcycles, etc.
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Most women who come into my shop looking to buy a bike are concerned with weight, as are many of the men. Will, I don't know if this is a gender thing or just an old vs new bike thing. That and pashley should be shot.
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Personally pashley-style bikes have never appealed to me, the lighter and more racey the better... and for me it has to be drops, always. However the only woman I know who rides a pashley style bike always says 'I can't see the point in riding such lightweight bikes, it just takes you longer to lose weight and get fit!'... and I can kind of see her point...
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Why do so many women buy such heavy bikes?
In my shadow life as a cycle trainer I have taught mostly women and have got used to the fact that many of them have bikes which they can hardly pick up. What the hell are Pashleys made of? And what is their appeal? Are they bikes that seem, somehow, 'womanly'? Do shops direct women to these kind of bikes?
It's not just the labouring up hills that is a problem; it's that they can hardly carry them up to their flats so taking the bike in and out becomes a chore and discourages them. I should point out that I, also, can hardly lift a Pashley or one of its generic equivalents so it would be a problem for me too.It takes longer to explain than I have time, but at the bottom of it there's basically a vision of a simpler and more just society. It's complicated. For a simple pictorial explanation of why people (women and many men) think it's supposed to be stylish, look at the influential http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/.
I've never met anyone who has ridden this type of bike seriously for long in London. People either give up or get another bike. It only works where average trip length is very short.
Some people genuinely have back problems and hope the more upright position will sort them out, only to have to work extra hard to compensate for the weight, which in turn does their back in.
Most of the imported models are essentially gas pipe jobs with curlicues. I'm not talking about the more high-end models, which give you the design while being lighter. Few get those, though. The motivation is, as for many novice cyclists, to get a bike that's easy to maintain, cheap, and sturdy. Hold on--just like fixie bikie skidders, then.
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Oh God, that site is bringing back some bad memories Oliver.
Will, do not read the entries on 'vehicular cyclist', and I'm being very serious!
Yup, he's a great guy but somewhat misguided. :)
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I'm not will so shall I read the vehicular cyclist entries...
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Whoop, mistook the link Oliver wrote down as Copenhagenize, the link I was talking about is this;
http://www.copenhagenize.com/2010/07/vehicular-cyclists-secret-sect.html
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Why do so many women buy such heavy bikes?
In my shadow life as a cycle trainer I have taught mostly women and have got used to the fact that many of them have bikes which they can hardly pick up. What the hell are Pashleys made of? And what is their appeal?It's because their view of cycling is (just like those people who buy multi-thousand-pound road bikes to commute on) not based on anything close to the reality of London cycling. The tubby bloke in the risibly inappropriate polka dot jersey on his carbon De Rosa is enacting his fantasy of sporting prowess and the woman grinding slowly along on her brand new 1950s bike (which is what Pashleys really are) is enacting her fantasy of living in a quainter, more civilised place than London.
They make brilliant sense if you actually do live in a quainter, more civilised place though. My mother (65) has two ancient Hercules ladies' bikes and uses whichever is creaking less that day. She lives in Cambridge.
Despite all this, for some reason I really, really want a Guv'nor.
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Any ladies want a touring bike in a very small size should check this out;
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It looks like its a 52cm - 20 or maybe 21 inch in old money? I'm 5'2" and my old bike is a Holdsworth equipe 19 1/2 " boys racing frame which is the right frame size for me in old style frame sizing- the Dawes looks like a straight top tube so a 52cm in that style is smallish but not that small- it would be a touch too big for me (although I have ridden bikes that size) my daughter is 5'5" and I have just built up an old Raleigh frame of that size for her- it fits her fine.
The Dawes looks like a great little bike though. It was one of the bikes I considered when i finally had enough money to buy a brand new bike- in the end I saved up for a bit longer and got a Roberts Roughstuff built for me- gorgeous bike and tough as anything- ridden thousands of miles on it loaded with full camping kit over roads and roughstuff- if you can afford it, Chas Roberts will build you a great bike.
!Nhattattack!
Nikola
LittleHeather
LongAndWinding
branwen
deleted
edscoble
cafewanda
JessBerry
Oliver Schick
pastry_bot
Steff
saoirse-
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Ladies Bikes - What are you riding?
Posted by
@Shoosh
I'm 5ft4 with length width of about 29" (i think judging by my jeans) what would you recommend me?