Carbon or Alu for Wife?

I had a nice long post so will keep this short

I would like to get my wife a new roadbike and I would like her to enjoy riding it. She has been riding around on her Trek Mountain bike.

wife is very petite so options for bikes and demoing are very limited

Given that the difference in price was not an issue would you:

a) buy an inexpensive aluminum bike and see how she like it and go from there
b) buy a nice aluminum bike
c) buy an entry level carbon bike

based on my recent experience, where I opted for B, I would have been ahead if i had simply done C

any thoughts would be most appreciated

A.

Buy her an inexpensive aluminum bike. Let her ride it around for a year or a couple thousand miles. If the sport is to her liking, she will know what she wants when it's time to upgrade.

Investing in something pricey now – whatever the material – when she is not sure of her fit and how she wants to ride (hills? touring? crits? tris? commuting?) can end up wasting a lot of money. As a petite rider, fit is much more problematic than for someone who is average-sized.

Have you considered steel as a frame material? That would be my choice. Typically less pricey than carbon and more comfy than Aluminum. There are a handful of brands--Surly and Jamis come to mind--that offer relatively inexpensive steel bikes in smallish sizes.

Some of the nicer Alu bikes can be nearly as light as the full carbon bikes. If you buy a 3k Carbon bike with all the gadgets that you hate and a 1K Alu bike that you WANT to ride... I wonder which was worth more in the end, even if the Alu bike weighs 2 pounds more??

Good luck and let us know what bike she gets... pics are required!!!

Shannon

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Roadtrip

Some of the nicer Alu bikes can be nearly as light as the full carbon bikes. If you buy a 3k Carbon bike with all the gadgets that you hate and a 1K Alu bike that you WANT to ride... I wonder which was worth more in the end, even if the Alu bike weighs 2 pounds more??

Good luck and let us know what bike she gets... pics are required!!!

Shannon

---

My guess is that ride quality, rather than weight, is the biggest "pro" for carbon over aluminum. I'm speaking in generalities, of course. I'm sure there are comfortable Al bikes on the market and uncomfortable carbon.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by indysteel

My guess is that ride quality, rather than weight, is the biggest "pro" for carbon over aluminum. I'm speaking in generalities, of course. I'm sure there are comfortable Al bikes on the market and uncomfortable carbon.

---

Agreed. I find my new carbon bike has a much smoother ride than the old aluminum one.

I don't know about other brands, but you can get a Trek carbon bike with good components for just over $2000.

But fit is most important. I got the new bike to get one that fit better. I was happy with the aluminum bike for years. Spending a bit more for carbon made sense for me because I'm on the bike for 4 hours at a time or more.

What does your wife want?

Yes what does your wife want? If you spend a lot of money will she be annoyed b/c she doesn't want to feel pressure? Or would she prefer something higher-end?

IMO a bike which shifts smoothly, brakes easily, rides comfortably and fits well makes all the difference in the world in wanting to ride (especially longer distances).

If price weren't an issue I would shop around until she found the "perfect" bike for her. Test ride different materials, sizes, geometries.

My first bike in recent years was a heavy, upright Navigator. Basically a mountain/comfort mix. I could not get up hills without wanting to go back home on that thing.

I ended up finding a used trek 1000 which is aluminum with carbon fiber fork. Tiagra/sora components. The brakes didn't work well, the shifters would drop my chain, and it didn't fit vvery well. I've since invested more $ into fixing the brakes (it really just needed new pads) and changing the stem for better fit. But with only a few hundred miles under my belt this summer I saw the bike of my dreams. Steel with carbon fork and campy chorus components, campy proton wheels. DH eventually agreed to the (extravagant) purchase and I LOVE this bike! I wish I had more time in the riding season and all I think about is bicycling :)

If price is not an issue -- does that mean if she DOES like riding -- she could get a better bike when she was ready? That being said, there are benefits to getting a better bike, IN ORDER for her to like it. I had a Fuji Provence for my first road bike, when I got my steel Luna it was so much better -- both in its responsiveness as well as the components. I later got a carbon Fuji RC Supreme -- which I also like. The Provence was so much more uncomfortable for me and I didn't really know it until I rode something better. Although I really liked riding, I wonder if I would have gotten as into it, if I hadn't gotten the Luna when I did. Just my two cents.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by warneral

I ended up finding a used trek 1000 which is aluminum with carbon fiber fork. Tiagra/sora components. The brakes didn't work well, the shifters would drop my chain, and it didn't fit vvery well. I've since invested more $ into fixing the brakes (it really just needed new pads) and changing the stem for better fit. But with only a few hundred miles under my belt this summer I saw the bike of my dreams. Steel with carbon fork and campy chorus components, campy proton wheels. DH eventually agreed to the (extravagant) purchase and I LOVE this bike! I wish I had more time in the riding season and all I think about is bicycling :)

---

I agree that components are also important. I had mostly 105 on my old bike with some Tiagra, including a horrible Tiagra front derailleur that needed frequent adjusting. Eventually it broke from being adjusted so often and was replaced with an Ultegra, which worked so much better.

If had to choose between a carbon frame with low quality components and an aluminum frame with better components, I would go with the latter (assuming fit was equally good with either choice).

The $2000 Trek Madone I mentioned earlier comes with Shimano 105, I think, which would be my minimum for Shimano. As it turns out, the bike I bought has SRAM Rival, which I'm quite happy with.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ny biker

I agree that components are also important.

The $2000 Trek Madone I mentioned earlier comes with Shimano 105, I think, which would be my minimum for Shimano. As it turns out, the bike I bought has SRAM Rival, which I'm quite happy with.

---

thanks everyone for all the great input

is there a preference for SRAM brifters for ladies over Shimano?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by purdyd

thanks everyone for all the great input

is there a preference for SRAM brifters for ladies over Shimano?

---

Yes, ladies have preferences as do gentlemen, but there is no gender specific preference.

Some of us prefer Campy....

:rolleyes:

how petite is she?

i really can't stand the feel of aluminum. i love my steel bike. that said she should get the bike that fits her the best and that she likes the most. it took me a long time to find a comfortable bike and it ended up being a custom built frame. getting a bike that fits is the most important thing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by moonfroggy

how petite is she?

i really can't stand the feel of aluminum. i love my steel bike. that said she should get the bike that fits her the best and that she likes the most. it took me a long time to find a comfortable bike and it ended up being a custom built frame. getting a bike that fits is the most important thing.

---

5' 1 1/2" and she looked good on the trek 43cm frame