Ladies Bikes - What are you riding?

^ this. The first thing I do with any old steel bike is change the rims to alloy and the brakes to something more modern as I really can't stress enough the desirability of being able to stop when you like D:

I don't mind changing the rims, but those steel ones look so nice :(

Will try the suggested brake pads before settling on new rims.

Size will be an issue? Usually they are not 700c wheels.

27" to 700 is usually ok without having to change the brakes and don't look out of place. If you want to keep to 27" , second hand alloy rims /wheels do turn up on ebay. I think you can get new 27" rims but not much choice and you'd have to build the wheel.

Oh...looks like you can get a new 27" alloy wheelset for under £60 27" Weinmann QR Front and QR Rear Alloy Wheels: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

To be honest for city riding steel rims with salmon kool stop pads is fine as long as you respect the limitations. I swap rims more for weight than braking. however if you/she want to ride fast I would definitely switch to alloy.

Even if the brake can work with the 700c rims, it would still be idea to upgrade to a dual pivot brakes,it take a lots less effort to perform an emergency stop.

I finished building this last weekend:

First bike I've built from scratch. Salsa El Mariachi 2 29er frame with eXotic crabon rigid forks and Hope Hoops. I rode it to work this morning through every single pothole I could find. 10/10.

(I know nothing about mountain bikes so I got BareNecessities to spec it before buying the parts)

Awesome! Well done!

^^OMG that is GORGEOUS.

I want!

It is nice. It's only a little heavier than my usual whip, which is a bonus. I put the rear tyre on back to front because I'm an idiot and I haven't fixed it yet because I'm a lazy idiot. I may also have done the same with the front but I haven't checked because I'm a lazy idiot, as discussed.

^you've done far more than I could, so you can't be that lazy or that much of an idiot.

Nice! When you taking it out to play in the mud? :D

At long last Boffers!! Looks ace. Hopefully our commutes will intersect again and I will be able to see it for realz!

lolz, nah not lazy. You're not the one who took about a yr to finish her friends bike!

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This has really made me want to get some fat tyres and a freewheel on the pomp and go off-roading.

^you've done far more than I could, so you can't be that lazy or that much of an idiot.

Wot she sed! Well done Boffs.

Want one in miniature even though I'm not sure I'd want to ride in mud, although running in it (cross-country running) brought out the child in me.

CW, this one is already the XS size! It feels ludicrously tall to me even at that size, so you'd probably need to get coldharbour to make you one like this: http://www.lfgss.com/post4092263-118.html

Stop giving me ideas!

Riding around my local commons could be a new kind of fun though............

Full sense has returned

(I know nothing about mountain bikes so I got BareNecessities to spec it before buying the parts)

Doesn't look like he spec the bare necessities.

Very nice. But not enough mud.

Elmstead Woods is fun to blast around at the moment if you fancy getting covered in mud without having to get on a train.

I thought I will drop mine... http://25.media.tumblr.com/30a9072734e7f6a78c86be9e2657e5e7/tumblr_mrme8djniK1qim5fgo2_1280.jpg
fixed gear, 48t front, 16back, frame- Marin, Alpina carbon fibre forks and sit post... love it till bits...

Elmstead Woods is a great tip, thank you - only about 10 miles from my house, too. I'll definitely check it out, cheers!

Does anyone have any suggestions/info on what to do about difficulties using shimano brake lever/shifters from the hoods?

Friend is riding a road bike for the first time, and is having difficulties in braking whilst riding on the hoods, been doing a bit of google research but the thing that keeps popping up is putting a shim into the lever to bring it closer to the handlebar.

Does anyone have any other suggestions, levers/shifters that work better with smaller hands, or is it a case of just getting used to it..

Brake modulation play a big roles, slacken the brake a little can make it easier to modulated, i.e. a longer pull instead of a shorter pull to perform an emergency stop, decent brake pads will also make it easier to take less effort to brake quickly.

Lastly, how was her reach when on the hood? if it's a little long, it'll make it slightly harder to operate the brakes effectively.

Pop down to your LBS and ask for shim, Specialized make some bigger one AFAIK.

I switched to SRAM. Life changing. But obviously not a particularly quick/easy/cheap solution.

Slackening the brakes a little.. and learning to descend in the drops worked for me
drop bars that flare out at the bottom also make levers easier to operate

@blowfish, which bars are you riding on, could swap out the bars if required...

@tricity, this is her first extended period of time on drop bars, and not sure she actually wants to shell out on a new groupset right now, but will bear it in mind. Also can you shim SRAM lever/shifters.

@edscoble, she has mentioned that it takes a long time to brake, so could be a set up issue, may look into updating the brakes and pads.