need to buy my wife a bike

[VeloVT]

I read a very favorable review of this women's specific Felt in Bicycling a while back:

http://www.feltracing.com/08/product...,1508&pid=8688

It's a good price for Dura Ace too, although the two models below it are good as well (FW25 with Ultegra and FW35 with 105).

I started riding on a Felt and they are fast bikes at a good value.

Definitely make sure you look at the geometry tab on on that Felt page though. The frame sizes seem misleading to me -- the virtual TT on the 45cm frame is the same -- 51.5 cm -- as the virtual TT on the 49cm bike I just bought.

Trek, Cannondale, Specialized etc are all making smaller women's frames now. I don't have experience with most of them but my BF bought a 2007 Trek Madone which I really like (he likes it too ). The Madone 4.5 is in your price range and it is carbon (though Trek's TCT carbon is a little wooden feeling -- OCLV is much livelier if you can swing the price difference).

Bianchi also makes a lot of smaller women's bikes. I have no experience with their WSD bikes (I'm 5'6" and Bianchi ONLY makes WSD bikes in smaller sizes), but I have a Bianchi cyclocross bike which is very comfy and quick-handling, and I've tested a few others that I liked.

Good luck!!!

[boy in a kilt]

Norm,

I understand where you are coming from.

Here's my advice.

Encourage your wife to participate in the forum and ask the sorts of questions you are. She will be more satisfied with the whole experience.

Also, when my wife bought her bike, I acted as a technical consultant only. There were issues that weren't my place to solve, but there were also issues where I could provide useful feedback. For example, she'd never liked the way the Shimano STI shifters felt (neither did I). A few months before she bought her bike, I'd built mine up with Campy. She agreed to give Campy a shot so I worked with the guys at the shop picking out components.That's about it.

Here are the take-home points.

Find a good shop first. A good shop will work with your wife to find a model that she likes and will make minor adjustments to improve the fit. They may charge for things like swapping out stems but in the long term, it's worth the money. Also, once a good shop learns the bike is for your wife, they will pretty much ignore you.

Second, encourage your wife to choose a bike that she wants but don't get too involved with the actual process. It's her bike. Be supportive but your two cents shouldn't extend beyond telling her that a bike she likes and is comfortable for her is your only concern.

Finally, if she says something doesn't feel right, believe her and encourage her to explore options until things are right. This particularly applies to saddles. You may have to spend some money to find a saddle she likes, but the money is well spent.

[MM_QFC!]

impressive, Obiwan aka BiaK!

[Zen]

My oven mitts are getting worn out.

[sgtiger]

Those new-fangled silicon ones work very well for me, Zen.

[Zen]

sg

[maillotpois]

Norm -

You wouldn't be the only one who's gotten a "starter" bike and ended up with a cyclist on your hands. I think it's great she's taken to the sport and good for you for encouraging it. Too many men would not be as open to the mom taking up a pretty time-intensive sport. You're recognizing that "stay at home mom" is a job and that she needs her recreation/hobby/leisure time. That's great!

Since you mention Wildflower, I am assuming you're in Northern or Central CA (I know what they say about assuming ). anyway, if you're a little more specific about where you are (geographically), perhaps someone can give you some bike shop pointers as well.

Good luck.

(Oh and my husband has given me TWO bikes as anniversary gifts over the years. I have no jewelry. Just bikes. I like it that way. )

[smilingcat]

Norm,

I understand where you are coming from.

Here's my advice.

Encourage your wife to participate in the forum and ask the sorts of questions you are. She will be more satisfied with the whole experience.

Also, when my wife bought her bike, I acted as a technical consultant only. There were issues that weren't my place to solve, but there were also issues where I could provide useful feedback. For example, she'd never liked the way the Shimano STI shifters felt (neither did I). A few months before she bought her bike, I'd built mine up with Campy. She agreed to give Campy a shot so I worked with the guys at the shop picking out components.That's about it.

Here are the take-home points.

Find a good shop first. A good shop will work with your wife to find a model that she likes and will make minor adjustments to improve the fit. They may charge for things like swapping out stems but in the long term, it's worth the money. Also, once a good shop learns the bike is for your wife, they will pretty much ignore you.

Second, encourage your wife to choose a bike that she wants but don't get too involved with the actual process. It's her bike. Be supportive but your two cents shouldn't extend beyond telling her that a bike she likes and is comfortable for her is your only concern.

Finally, if she says something doesn't feel right, believe her and encourage her to explore options until things are right. This particularly applies to saddles. You may have to spend some money to find a saddle she likes, but the money is well spent.

talk like that and if you wren't married (happily or otherwise), I'll marry you in a heartbeat

So considerate. I wish other men would get this point.

smilingcat

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So considerate. I wish other men would get this point.

smilingcat

They are out there. I got one.