Carbon or Alu for Wife?

[purdyd]

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

[Bluetree]

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.

[indysteel]

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.

[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

[indysteel]

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.

[ny biker]

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.

[Becky]

What does your wife want?