Quote Originally Posted by nuliajuk View Post
One thing I have noticed over the years, in a variety of activities, is that some women feel guilty about spending money on adequate equipment. So they get something cheap'n nasty, "just in case I decide I don't like it", and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This is a good point. We all know about and roll our eyes over men's "expensive toys", that's sort of just part of being a guy, while a woman beginner will often feel that she really needs to deserve a good quality bike (kayak/pair of skis/whatever), doesn't have the know-how at that point to buy something used of decent quality, and ends up feeling heavy, slow and unathletic on crappy gear. I've done it, though my excuse was just lack of money. My dh taught me that yes - the weight of a bike does count, a lot! - and steered me towards decent gear. Makes a huge difference in enjoyment. I'm now more of a weight-weenie than he ever was

But he's roughly my weight. A strong man who outweighed me by half might not even think I had a heavy bike in the first place.