Newb Status? Now what?

[MRL788]

Hey girls! So I typed in Google, "Women's Road Bike Forum" and this was the first one that came up. I checked some posts before registering and everyone seems really friendly here so I thought I'd join.

So here's my situation/dilemma, and I'm hoping to get some details to steer me in the right direction so I don't get so influenced by my boyfriend.

My boyfriend just recently bought a Specialized Allez road bike. I wanted to join him in his new found interest. Actually he's been into bikes for awhile but he just recently bought his first really nice bike for himself.

So I shopped at this place called Performance Bicycles which is located in Southern Cali. I kind of felt pressured by this shop but that's beside the point.

I went on two test rides. I was introduced to Fuji bicycles. The sales guy showed me the Absolute 2.0 and the Absolute 3.0 road bike/comfort. I definitely was attracted to the 2.0 because it had so much bells and whistles and it had that carbon form. Just the technicalities of it looked better than the 3.0. However, I don't have $650 to spend. So I opted for the 3.0 because I wasn't sure if I would ride enough to justify my spending of $650. Mind you, the 3.0 is HALF the cost of that. Well, two days later.... I ended up returning it because I just really thought about it when I got home. And I wasn't happy with the look and the feel of it despite having pretty good test rides.

I just wanted to get some feedback on any other suggestions for road/comfort bikes where I don't have to spend an arm and a leg but still have a quality beginner bike to get around with my boyfriend.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

[hebe]

Hello and welcome! I identify completely with your bike-buying woes. I have to go to nursery now but just wanted to say you must find a bike shop that you love, really, it makes all the difference in the world. Will be back later.

Right. I can't really advise you on exact bikes to try as you probably have a whole different range available to you on your side of the Atlantic. But I do suggest going to all your local bike shops, on your own, and telling them the kind of thing that you're looking for. They should listen, suggest, and not make you feel at all pressured. You might need to clarify the type of bike you want - over here "road bikes" and "comfort bikes" are two completely different animals and I think the US terminology is similar. The bike you tried is a hybrid, so it would be useful to try to work out exactly what you didn't like about it so that another shop can help direct you to some better choices. You can change both the look and feel of a bike to some extent, though obviously only within certain limits. Different shops will carry different bike ranges so going to a few different shops will let you see both how the shops compare and how the bikes feel.

I'm currently looking at changing my comfort bike for something lighter, prettier and faster. The two that are front-runners at the moment are the Specialized Vita and the Giant Escape 1W, these might be worth a look? Good luck!

[lph]

Hi, and welcome!

No bikes to suggest, unfortunately, but do concentrate on feel when you test ride, and also when you get the bike back home. An ugly bike can ride like a dream (and can be painted or prettied up), an uncomfortable bike will never be good no matter how pretty it is. Good for you on returning the first one! You need to like the bike if you're going to ride it, especially if you're trying to keep up with someone faster on a better bike.

Don't be too put off if you can't keep up, btw. A lot of us have been there, and it's an unfair playing ground. Have fun riding with your bf, but if you feel slow, ride a bit alone or find a riding partner or group with a better pace for you. You can only improve so much at a time.

[goldfinch]

What type of riding do you see yourself doing? Long rides on the road? Multi-use paths in the city? Around town on city streets? How hilly? How fit are you? All these and other questions will effect what type of bike may work best for you. However, I do agree that starting out with a relatively inexpensive bike makes sense until you know whether riding is for you or not. But the bike needs to be good enough so it doesn't cause its own frustrations when you ride. And as Iph says, it takes time to get into the swing of biking.

So, the suggestions about working with a good bike shop are excellent. Talk to them about what you plan to do, test ride bikes. Different shops carry different lines of bikes so you will want to try several shops.

The type of bike you tried is a hybrid. There are many other bikes of this style you might want to try. The Trek FX series is one of the post popular. As the FX bikes get more expensive they also are more like road bikes with flat bars. The FX3 is a nice hybrid bike. You might give that one a try. Most manufacturers have similar lines with similar price points. But you might also find out that a different type of bike appeals to you more and will fit the type of riding you do better.

Another option, if you or your BF are handy and feel like you can evaluate the quality of a bike and its condition is to buy used, like off of Craigslist. I've outfitted several family members with Craigslist bikes. There are lots of poorly maintained bikes out there and in some areas, people sell Walmart type bikes for nearly as much as they pay for them, but good deals on good bikes can be found.

[Owlie]

Hybrids...There's the Trek FX series, Giant Rapid/Dash or FCR (if you're looking on Craiglist--they renamed the series a year or so ago), and I know Specialized and Cannondale have their own versions, but I can't remember them.

Try everything out and see what feels best on test rides. I'd write more, but I haven't had enough caffeine yet to write anything intelligent.

[goldfinch]

Hybrids...There's the Trek FX series, Giant Rapid/Dash or FCR (if you're looking on Craiglist--they renamed the series a year or so ago), and I know Specialized and Cannondale have their own versions, but I can't remember them.

Try everything out and see what feels best on test rides. I'd write more, but I haven't had enough caffeine yet to write anything intelligent.

The Cannondale version is the Quick. I have a Quick4 and it is very similar to the Trek. Specialized has the Vita. Hebe provided a link.