Triathlon - Bike for the wife

Hi all,

My name is Mike and I'm looking for a new bike for my wife for Christmas. I need help with what would be best for her.

She does 1-3 Triathlons a year, all sprints and super sprints, no full ones. So I would guess she is a beginner in that sense. She is about 5' 4" tall and weighs about 130 lbs. She said she would like a racing bike, but there are so many, where do I start. I saw a KUOTA K-FACTOR that looked interesting, but I don't know what size bike she would need. I'm not looking to get the best bike available, because money is somewhat of an issue and she is not a professional and doesn't plan to be.

Any help and suggestions would be of great help to me.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

Hi all,

My name is Mike and I'm looking for a new bike for my wife for Christmas. I need help with what would be best for her.

She does 1-3 Triathlons a year, all sprints and super sprints, no full ones. So I would guess she is a beginner in that sense. She is about 5' 4" tall and weighs about 130 lbs. She said she would like a racing bike, but there are so many, where do I start. I saw a KUOTA K-FACTOR that looked interesting, but I don't know what size bike she would need. I'm not looking to get the best bike available, because money is somewhat of an issue and she is not a professional and doesn't plan to be.

Any help and suggestions would be of great help to me.

Thanks in advance,

MikeMy wife competes in triathlons as well. She's 5'4", 110lbs and about a year and a half ago, she purchased a Trek 5200wsd (women specific design) in a 47. It's a really good fit for her and we were glad we found this bike, because as you may know, it's hard to find decent road/tri bikes in this size. Some of the things that make a WSD bike more accomodating for women are a shorter stem and top tube (because women usually have proportionately shorter torsos than men), shorter crank, wider seat and adjustable reach brake levers (for smaller hands). It has 650 wheels, which mean tire selection isn't as good and tubes are a little harder to find. It's a road bike that we outfitted with clip on aero bars. The price was $2,000.

Does she want a dedicated tri-bike or is a regular road bike with clip ons more her speed? What is your approximate price range? Is she a casual triathlete (like my wife) who does this for fun or is she more competitive than that? The answers may help you narrow your selection.

She is a casual Triathlete and does it for fun. I will have to take a look at the Trek's.

Thanks.

You may also want to look into Giant Bicycles since almost all the frame have slope frame design which will make fitting it to a smaller rider like your wife easier.

Hi Mike

Take a deep breath. This is long, but it should really help. I have been riding for a long time now.

I'm 5'4'' and I ride a 48cm time trial bike but I have it set up with road bars and clip on aerobars. What actually really made it fit was the 49cm top tube (easier to find with the time trial frame). If your wife is only moderately competitive (i.e. not gunning for a podium spot every time), I also recommend a triple crank for women.

I can't even begin to make a strong enough case for the 38cm handlebars. You may have to special order them and spiffy carbon bars don't come that small, but her back and shoulders will thank you forever. I've put in up to 200miles in a week without a twinge of shoulder or neck discomfort (my rear, on the other hand...).

Shiman Ultegra has a set of women's shifter's. When I had Dura Ace I could never differentiate between the levers because my hands were to small. It made for spotty shifting and sore hands/wrists. I have since switched to Campy, but I hear that the women specific Ultegra shifters are a more manageable size.

The Terry women's saddles are pretty popular, but I've had tri friends who have collapsed the cutout. I have this great serfas women's competition saddle. It doesn't have any seams so it won't rash when I'm wearing a tri suit in a longer race. I've found having a cutout to make space for the nether regions to be a vital addition on long rides.

I have a super short torso, even for a girl (my legs are as long as some girls in the 5'8'' range) so I have a 50mm stem. In my case, I am pretty competitive/aggressive, so I ride with a substantial handlbar drop and need the really short stem. The short stem pulls weight away from the front end of the bike and isn't optimal for handling. If your wife has a less aggressive drop, she might get away with something longer.

Even "women's bikes" aren't always ideally suited for small women, so don't be afraid to tweak it in a mildly unorthodox manner. My set-up is a little odd, but it suits me. Once you get the right fit it rocks. I'll have to say that my last bike split was nothing short of spectacular (for me). :)

Good luck with the Christmas shopping.

Find a really good bike shop. Decide what your price range is. Then see if they'll sell you a gift certificate. The most important part of this decision is fit. It's difficult to do this as a Christmas present. Much better to have her in the shop, discussing her needs and desires with someone knoweldgeable, and working with her on fit.

I bought a bike for my wife as a christmas present once. Even with a very good idea of what she wanted, and a good idea as to fit from her previous bike, I didn't take delivery of the bike until after christmas, and only with the shop's understanding that they would do a fitting and trade out anything that needed to be, including going to a different frame size if necessary.

You also need to narrow down whether she wants a road bike or a tri bike. When she says "racing" it sounds like she means a tri specific bike for her races, which are triathlons. If she already has a decent road bike, she'll get more out of a tri bike, than upgrading to a better road bike. If she doesn't have a decent road bike, you may want to get a road bike that will be more useful overall, but not as fast in triathlons.

Thus back to my suggestion, a gift certificate to a good shop, and let your wife pick with the aid of the shop.

Thank you everybody for your comments and help. It was confusing, but also very helpful.

I went to a local bike shop where they sell all types of bikes and told them what my wife likes, and what she needs, being a beginner and all. He was extremely helpful and steered me away from the higher end bikes right away. I liked that immediatley. He then recommended the Trek WSD bike for her in a 51, so that's what I got, along with a bunch of extra's like the stationary Cyclops liquid trainer, CF tri-bar, and computer. This bike is a HUGE improvement over the Mountain bike she used to use and I think she'll love it. If she starts to do more tri's, and takes it more seriously, then we'll go out and look at some "better" bikes.

Thank you everybody for your comments and help. It was confusing, but also very helpful.

I went to a local bike shop where they sell all types of bikes and told them what my wife likes, and what she needs, being a beginner and all. He was extremely helpful and steered me away from the higher end bikes right away. I liked that immediatley. He then recommended the Trek WSD bike for her in a 51, so that's what I got, along with a bunch of extra's like the stationary Cyclops liquid trainer, CF tri-bar, and computer. This bike is a HUGE improvement over the Mountain bike she used to use and I think she'll love it. If she starts to do more tri's, and takes it more seriously, then we'll go out and look at some "better" bikes.

The Trek should serve her well. If she really takes to Triathlons, down the road she can buy a tri bike specifically for Triathlons. But she'll still want the Trek to do most of her training on, and to do group rides.

I think the 51cm is too big for your wife. But that's just IMO. Maybe she has longer legs.

I think the 51cm is too big for your wife. But that's just IMO. Maybe she has longer legs.

What makes you say that? Her legs are normal, not long. I guess I'll have to see on Christmas.