Carbon or Alu for Wife?

[indysteel]

some of us prefer campy....

+1.

[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]

I have Shimano Ultegra (although the shifters are older 105's) on one bike and Sram Rival on another. The Sram shifters fit my hands better although the new Ulterga's, I believe are now flatter on the tops and adjustable. Someday I hope to get a set.

The shifting motion is different for each of them. I went from Shimano to Sram so it took some getting used to, but now the Sram is fine. I think I have a slight preference for the Shimano, but that is probably due to the fact that I started with that system.

If I had a choice between Sram or Shimano, I think I would get a new Ultrgra (or even Dura Ace ) group. (However, I would love to try a Campy Record group someday. But that is a long shot!)

[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?

[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....

[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.

[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).

[Pip]

Just adding my two cents. I started out with a heavy aluminium-framed road bike, upgraded two years later to a 2kg lighter aluminium bike, then two years later upgraded to carbon (losing another 2kg again). if your wife's a confident cyclist then she may be fine going straight from a mountain bike to carbon. I personally would have found it too much of an adjustment. My carbon bike rides completely differently to my last two, and it's taken me more than I'd realised to get used to it. I love it though, don't get me wrong!