Carbon or Alu for Wife?

[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.

[purdyd]

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

[malkin]

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

How did she FEEL?

[purdyd]

How did she FEEL?

she wanted to buy it on the spot

but i want her to try at least try the specialized 44cm frame

thanks everyone for the feedback on SRAM versus Shimano brifters

does anyone have an issue with SRAM requiring more force to shift?

[ny biker]

does anyone have an issue with SRAM requiring more force to shift?

Not at all.

[Jo-n-NY]

she wanted to buy it on the spot

but i want her to try at least try the specialized 44cm frame

thanks everyone for the feedback on SRAM versus Shimano brifters

does anyone have an issue with SRAM requiring more force to shift?

Have her try the Specialized or at least another brand to compare as geometries are different.

I have a Specialized Ruby with Dura Ace and Ultegra. I recently won a Dolce with SRAM. It does not take more force to shift with the SRAM. It is just different because you are using one lever to move the gears up and down as opposed to Shimano where you are using two. Going from one to another takes a bit of getting use to, but if she is beginning say with SRAM I have no complaints about using it.

[malkin]

Anything longer than 30 minutes or bumpier than a perfect surface rattles me like crazy on my aluminium bike. I ride it only for my work commute or little grocery runs. Otherwise, steel.

[aicabsolut]

In addition to reach, SRAM generally has a shorter "throw" of the levers than Shimano b/c you only push the inner lever. That can make a difference for someone with small hands. The newer and/or fancier Shimano stuff (new Ultegra or DA / old DA) won't be as hard (forceful) of a throw for the large lever, but it still requires more effort than SRAM.

That said, I'm perfectly happy with Shimano, but I am not petite, nor do I have small hands.

[Chicken Little]

Fit her in aluminum, and start checking Craigslist. If nothing come up that fits, go entry level aluminum, you can sell at a small loss in the spring, if you want to keep your $$ reasonable.

I ride steel, period. But I didn't start that way, and prefer to financially ease into things...

[Crankin]

I love my Shimano Ultegra short reach brifters. My hands are not that small (size medium glove), but overall, I am a small person. I have never been able to ride in the drops until I found the perfect combo of the short reach brifters and a short and shallow dropped bar. I never want to change... learning a new shifting pattern would mess up my brain.
The aluminum Orbea I had on my bike tour last May reminded me how much I like my carbon (and steel) bikes. Although the bike had the exact same geometry as my road bike, I felt jumbled every time I road over a teeny crack. And I was back to not being able to reach the brakes from the drops.

[kacie tri-ing]

Often, when my husband wants to buy me gear, he will give me a picture of what I am going to get, and then we go to the store together and I pick out what I want.

Bikes are awesome. She will LOVE being on a bike. Personally, I love my carbon, and I am glad that I did a big upgrade after my aluminum hybrid. Granted, it always gets love and time, and it wasn't a waste. If you KNOW she is going to really enjoy riding, I am on the "buy the nicest thing you can manage and fits her," camp. She can "grow into" a nicer bike, and will appreciate being able to do that. Otherwise, you will end up buying more than one bike, and the cheap one will sit in the corner.

That's my opinion though....

[GLC1968]

Bikes are awesome. She will LOVE being on a bike. Personally, I love my carbon, and I am glad that I did a big upgrade after my aluminum hybrid. Granted, it always gets love and time, and it wasn't a waste. If you KNOW she is going to really enjoy riding, I am on the "buy the nicest thing you can manage and fits her," camp. She can "grow into" a nicer bike, and will appreciate being able to do that. Otherwise, you will end up buying more than one bike, and the cheap one will sit in the corner.

That's my opinion though....

I agree 100%.

If she wanted to buy the first road bike on the spot - then she's likely going to love this sport. I fell in love in one short ride and I do wish I'd gone with better (and better fitting) bike the first time around instead of 'upgrading' twice in the first two years (all three were road bikes, so it's not like I couldn't have bought my last bike the first time around!). This is particularly important for people who might be a hard fit (like me) because bike shopping can be very frustrating. I say, go with the best fit on the best bike you can afford. She'll thank you for it!

[zoom-zoom]

I agree 100%.

If she wanted to buy the first road bike on the spot - then she's likely going to love this sport. I fell in love in one short ride and I do wish I'd gone with better (and better fitting) bike the first time around instead of 'upgrading' twice in the first two years (all three were road bikes, so it's not like I couldn't have bought my last bike the first time around!). This is particularly important for people who might be a hard fit (like me) because bike shopping can be very frustrating. I say, go with the best fit on the best bike you can afford. She'll thank you for it!

Ditto. And if she even has 1% of her brain that thinks racing might be fun, then definitely don't rule out a more performance/aggressive geometry frame. I ended up on a women's "comfort" bike, instead of the men's/unisex performance frame that I realized after only a few months would have been a more ideal fit with my body type and interest. Only a year after receiving my first road bike I am ready for an upgrade. This time to carbon (from aluminum...which really sucks on our rough, chip-sealed rural roads) and this time with better components (from Shimano 105 to SRAM Rival and lighter wheels and better brakes).

[purdyd]

I say, go with the best fit on the best bike you can afford. She'll thank you for it!

Thanks for all the advice everyone. There is a Ruby Elite Apex on order with expected deliver in December