need to buy my wife a bike

[steelynorm]

About a year and a half ago you ladies helped me out.
Now my wife is doing a half iron man, and i want to start bike shopping for her, because she would never buy a nicer/newer bike for herself.

We are not looking for a tri specific bike, however I am looking for a triple.

We got her fitted she needs a 45-47cm bike. I would love to buy her a used bike, but i have had no luck finding one. Any ideas on where to look?
I have tried Craigslist, there are not very many on there on a consistent basis.

Option 2 is buying new, I am looking for a bike spec'd out in 105. Any help with suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

She tried a Trek 2.3 WSD retailing for 1599? She like it a lot better than the POS i bought her, too big too long etc. etc. In my defense, I was not going to outlay money for something she had never ever done b4

I would love to have a couple of options so she test ride a couple of them.

Thanking all you estrogen laden humans for your help

Norm

[tulip]

I recommend that she go with you and ride several bikes to determine which ones are the most comfortable.

You're very nice to buy her a bike, but it's important that she be in on the action.

[shootingstar]

I would not respond to him. If you look at his previous posts (which is not many), this is a joke/prank.

Just to get a pile of women riled up. Not worth it.

[Zen]

Hmmm. Sounds like an offense that could/should result in termination.

[tulip]

Yeah, report him. Meh, not worth it. I'll just ignore him.

[snapdragen]

I see nothing in norm's previous posts that leads me to believe this is a prank. What makes you think this?

eta - norm, take your wife out bike shopping, have her try a number of different bikes. A lot of the ladies here seem to like Specialized bikes. Once you know what she likes, maybe you can find a used one on ebay or craigslist, or find a good deal on last years model.

[Mr. Bloom]

Norm, if you're sincere, why don't you edit out parts of paragraph 5 and maybe you'll get a decent response...even I'm suspicious of your wording.

If you're not sincere, just edit it out for good taste

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

eta - norm, take your wife out bike shopping, have her try a number of different bikes. A lot of the ladies here seem to like Specialized bikes. Once you know what she likes, maybe you can find a used one on ebay or craigslist, or find a good deal on last years model.

Good advice. You really can't buy jeans for someone of the opposite sex and expect them to fit well, even if you know their general size....it's even harder with bikes. She really NEEDS to get on the bikes and test them out. Once you find one that she feels fits well (and she has over a year of riding now under her belt, so she'll probably know a bad fit when she feels it) then you can look within that size and brand and model for used or on sale ones.
She really needs to be part of the trying-on process.
Then, there is always the possibilty that she doesn't WANT a new bike. If that's still the case even after discussing it with her, then I'd suggest respecting her wishes. Maybe she'll even surprise you and tell you a year from now about a new bike SHE wants to buy!

[Triskeliongirl]

I don't know if this guy is sincere or not, but there is just something about the 'bikey for the wifey' post that rubs me the wrong way. I think our response should be that the women should have enough interest to introduce herself in the getting to know you thread, and then start talking to us about *her* interests and needs, and we'll talk back.

[Trek420]

eta - norm, take your wife out bike shopping, have her try a number of different bikes. A lot of the ladies here seem to like Specialized bikes. Once you know what she likes, maybe you can find a used one on ebay or craigslist, or find a good deal on last years model.

At norm's expense I hope you'll forgive the slight thread-drift. Maybe we can all get something out of this subject.

I know this is done, our LBS's know it; the customer who tries bike after bike, jots down sizes and models .... gets it on Craigs or E-bay.

I've always objected to this because it takes advantage of the shops time and expertise.

Cycling can be expensive and we all need to save a buck or two... thousand. How do you save on this expensive addiction

And yes snap, getting last years models at the beginning of the year is a great way to start. When do the new ones arrive? Guess I'll look for the balloons on the dealers lot and the big tent.

And norm, you don't know if she'll do another tri, or if she'll just take off. My vote is find the upgrade-worthy frame at a good price that fits. Upgrade the bike as her skills, more challenging rides dictate.

[Wahine]

Norm - the most important thing about bike fit is reach. Sorry if I'm dumbing it down excessively but that means the effective top tube length plus the length of the stem. If you have a top tube in the right range, you can tweak out fit by switching out the stem. So if you know she's a 45-47 and she knows that she has a long or short torso you should be able to find a decent fitting bike on ebay, but it's a hassle. Here's an example: if your wife is short torsoed relative to leg length... you should likely lean toward the 45 and only consider 47s with a shorter top tube length. That means getting a feel for what the avg top tube length and searching out the geometry on each bike.

Also, if she wants to put tri bars on it, I would cheat a little to the short side because the bars make a difference.

Buying a bike at the LBS allows her to try a bunch of bikes out, find the right fit and when you hopefully buy a bike, you'll get great service.

[Triskeliongirl]

Norm - the most important thing about bike fit is reach. Sorry if I'm dumbing it down excessively but that means the effective top tube length plus the length of the stem.

Crtical correction, seat tube angle is a huge compenent of reach. A 1 cm diff. in STA translates a ~ a 1 cm diff. in reach. So a bike with a 73 STA angle and 50 cm top tube will have 2 cm shorter reach than a bike with a 75 STA and 50 cm top tube, because the saddle will need to be placed 2 cm further back on the bike with the steeper STA to get the same KOP position. This is huge.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I know this is done, our LBS's know it; the customer who tries bike after bike, jots down sizes and models .... gets it on Craigs or E-bay.

I've always objected to this because it takes advantage of the shops time and expertise.

It just balances out the far more frequent occurrence of people going into an LBS and walking out with a bike that they didn't intend to buy and that perhaps isn't the most appropriate bike for them.
I think jotting things down on a notepad is a bit too obvious, but we all SHOULD be shopping around trying many bikes well before we buy anyway.

[Starfish]

I think jotting things down on a notepad is a bit too obvious, but we all SHOULD be shopping around trying many bikes well before we buy anyway.

How on earth does one bike shop and compare lots of bikes without jotting down the particulars, in order to compare likes/dislikes, as well as bang-for-buck?

So...I'm going to be driving a few hours to a larger metro area where I can test a bunch of bikes, and hope to come home and have the small, rural-ish LBS (who can't stock many) order it for me. Curious to know how you all feel about that? I want to support the LBS, but it will mean taking the time of shops and staff elsewhere, when I don't intend to buy from them.

ETA: I also did not see anything too "off" about this guy's last threads...but here is one more vote for (1) gifting the wife with the support for bike buying, and then letting her run the buying show and try them all out, and (2) strongly encouraging her to get her own account, with her own password, here on TE and introducing herself.

[Geonz]

I'd want to buy something at a shop where I used their services... a spare blinky or something.
Buying a bike is like buying shoes... I'd neve rpresume to get one for somebody else. Now, a surprise trip *to* the bike shop where you'd previewed some likely prospects and knew there was a good sales crew? ... Especially since the previous bike is a self-admitted POS...