Fifty Plus (50+) - And Another New Bike

I bought the wife a bike in October 2005 for a surprise birthday present. The surprise was on me as the bike sat till June this year, when she finally tried to ride it. I had to remove the suspension seat post for a non suspension so I could get seat lower. All I heard was top bar was too high, she can't step thru. Can't touch the ground with her feet while still on the saddle. Where are the brakes? Surprisingly, she hung in there. Only put about 20 miles on bike in 5 separate trips. Fell off three times. But today we went to a couple LBS and came home with a Trek Lime Lite. It's what she wants; coaster brake, nothing on the handle bars, low step thru. Hopefully she rides more and maybe someday will want more of a bike. Thank goodness I didn't spend a lot on the Oct 2005 bike, a Gravity Amsterdam FS. About one step above a Wal-Mart bike. Soon to be listed on ebay. I was watching her tool around the lot on the Trek Lime. Bike appears to start in low gear, and the speed of front wheel determines when it shifts up. Wife never went fast enough to cause a shift. Put a bottle cage on it, but the mount protrudes into her step thru space. So looks like a handle bar bag or basket is in order. Now the challenge is to get her out to ride. Having 90 degree temps right now. I who like to sleep till 9am, I'm suggesting we get on the trail at 8am for an hour to avoid the heat. Film tomorrow?

Keep at it. Got my wife on bike two years ago with one I got at REI which is kind of hybrid. We were out for ride one Sunday....more recreation for her than exercise...got started downhill and didn't get out on ends of brake handles so she could get leverage and couldn't stop...panicked, put her feet down and crashed....ACL, cracked ribs, road rash....to the E.R. Just getting her back on the bike now so I'm going to teach basics. We all think we know how to ride...after all we did it as kids. How to make the bike do it's work for her, which hand to go for the water bottle with (left...your right hand controls the back brake), best way to brake, how to crash safely, etc. I didn't think about the fact that I had years of following my teenage sons down mountains on bikes in terms of bike control, etc. I don't think she'll ever do it hard enough to really get exercise benefit but maybe , just maybe if she can see how increased cycling helps with weight loss and weight control she will. We're dieting and with my cycling daily I am dropping weight very fast and if I pig out over a weekend and blow the diet I can lose what I gained in a day which is pretty cool.

Well we got on the trail this morning. Weather fine at start but was heating up when we finished. Wife set her personal record at 6 miles. She can't seem to notice when bike auto shifts, but I did notice her cadence was less about 9 mph. Wife only briefly hits 10 mph. Having trouble with staying back on saddle. Suspect a poor mix of polyester saddle cover and polyester slacks. Think I'll put the stock saddle back on bike. With any luck I'll have her riding roads with me this fall, probably just for 15 mile trips. Ordered a handle bar mount for water bottle. Bike is way too clean with no accessories.

http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~bierhaus/Wife%20on%20Trek.jpg

Good job finding the right bike. You're way ahead of me - I don't think my wife will ever ride a bike, although the Lime would be her style.

Don't push her too much. Ya gotta make them think it's THEIR idea!:)

You can mount a water bottle cage on the neck with a auto water hose clamp. She will be able to reach it without bending down. Works for my wife. Good Luck John

Minoura has a cage mount that can be mounted on the handlebars. My wife has one mounted on her cruiser.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/bicycles/Watsons.jpg

Minoura has a cage mount that can be mounted on the handlebars. My wife has one mounted on her cruiser.



Look at the calves on that guy, will you? :rolleyes:

Twofish also makes a bottle holder that velcroes on to bikes.

I did order 2 Minoura Bottle Cage Holders from Nashbar. Took advantage of their free shipping sale. Got a spare tube also. Do have a spare cage and plenty of bottles. I'll let her tell me when she wants clothing and helmet, if ever.

The LIME looks like an interesting bike and one that I thought my wife would like. We wound up with a TREK 7000 WSD for her and she loves it. I almost bought the next level up with the shock, but for the most part these entry level shocks do a poor job of dampening the ride and add too much weight for not enough gain.

Most of the Mixte frame sets are difficult to get a water bottle bracket on without any clearance. My wife has not complained about hers yet.

You go girl!!!!!!!!