Carbon or Alu for Wife?

[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?

[warneral]

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

[ny biker]

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.

[purdyd]

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?

[malkin]

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.

[redrhodie]

thanks everyone for all the great input

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

I tried SRAM for the first time last week, and I do think it's ergonomically better for my small hands than Shimano (and I have short reach Shimano brifters). I can't really comment on performance other than it worked perfectly for the ride I took around he block.

[hirakukibou]

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.