General Cycling Discussion - Girlfriend wants to start riding!

My girlfriend of about 3 years wants to start riding a bike after she has seen how much weight I have lost doing so. The problem lies in that she wants to get a K-Mart bike, and thinks that it will be fine for her. I have been trying to convince her that she will like it, and not to get a K-Mart bike. I know that yours truly will be the one fixing it everytime something breaks, which will be about every other mile or so...ANYWAY, what can I do to convince her to not go the way of the XXXmart bike? I also advised her that if she absolutely NEEDS a K-Mart bike, to at least make it a Schwinn

There's plenty of threads on the forums about this topic - e.g. this one (http://64.191.20.129/showthread.php?t=48269).

Most significant downfalls are usually quality of assembly, durability of frame and components, and lack of ongoing service.

Want to convince her? Tell her if she gets the Department Store bike you'll dump her and no one will be around to fix then either and then she won't lose any weight that she's so impressed that you have lost. ;)

.....

And if you need to sweeten the deal, tell her you'll post "those pictures" on the web :eek: ;)

Buy her a lbs bike, loverboy.

Buy her a lbs bike, loverboy.

Well.. yeah, there's that too...

can't you just let her use one of your bikes?

Buy her a lbs bike, loverboy.


Now there's a thought! :roflmao:

:D

can't you just let her use one of your bikes?

I tried...she wants to get her own.

I can barely afford my bike...let alone one for her!

Here is an idea. Explain it to her like this. A Wal-Mart bike is like a $20 pair of shoes made in China. An LBS bike is like a $300 pair of Italian shoes. Which would she like to do 20 miles in?

And my wife says I don't understand women. :rolleyes:

My girlfriend of about 3 years wants to start riding a bike after she has seen how much weight I have lost doing so. The problem lies in that she wants to get a K-Mart bike, and thinks that it will be fine for her. I have been trying to convince her that she will like it, and not to get a K-Mart bike. I know that yours truly will be the one fixing it everytime something breaks, which will be about every other mile or so...ANYWAY, what can I do to convince her to not go the way of the XXXmart bike? I also advised her that if she absolutely NEEDS a K-Mart bike, to at least make it a Schwinn


Well, she's probably thinking that she doesn't want to spend out too much yet, as she just may not like cycling. :eek:

I say let her get the Kmart, Walmart, whatever bike, get the best they have tho, and if she likes cycling after this summer, then she can invest in a better bike over next winter.

My first 'real' bike I bought a Sports Experts (a clothing store who no longer sells bikes) for $336 Canadian in 1986. It was a MTB bike, rigid suspenion, thumb shifters (SIS tho!), quick release seat and sealed Shimano hubs.

After about 2 summers I realized I enjoyed cycling and bought a better one, then a better one, then a better one, etc.

I still have the first one tho, as I use it as my beater bike, you can see it here. http://www.accesswave.ca/~elvisbird/beater.htm

Give it time lad, let her build into it.

Digger

You can probably get a good used LBS bike, by private sale or at a police auction, or even a Thrift store if you're eagle-eyed, for the price of a *mart bike, or less. Thing is, either she's gonna stick with it or she isn't. If she sticks with it, she won't wanna keep the *mart bike; she'll wanna move up to something worth riding long-term. She might also not wanna keep a used LBS bike, because it may not be just the right fit. But if it is a decent fit, and the kind of bike she wants, she may elect to keep it. If she doesn't stick with it, your investment is the same or less with the used LBS bike. Plus, in either case, if you decide not to keep it, the LBS bike will be worth more to sell than the *mart bike.

Like ehenz says, YOU buy her the bike... Don't play cheap in this department.

just let her buy the crap bike a learn a lesson.

Buy her one. That is what I did for a girl i used to date. Look into the lower end Giants and such.

Will she ride a used bike? If so and you can not afford a new one from the shop look into Ebay and also the shop may have some good used bikes.

When my girlfriend started riding, it was with a used walmart bike, which was good for about a week, then she got a new walmart bike which was good for about a month, then she got a giant hybrid which she says is light years ahead.
Do her a favor and convince her to at least get a base model mtb with slicks.
Do what my girlfriend and I do with condoms, split the cost so no one person pays for something we both enjoy.

Hey, I agree with digger. If you can convince her to start at the local lbs then great, but if not, go the dept store route. Hopefully she will enjoy riding and would want to upgrade her bike. No sense in getting into an arguement because she didn't want to do it your way.

Perhaps after riding the dept store bike for a while let her ride one of your bikes to see the difference.


Well, she's probably thinking that she doesn't want to spend out too much yet, as she just may not like cycling. :eek:

I say let her get the Kmart, Walmart, whatever bike, get the best they have tho, and if she likes cycling after this summer, then she can invest in a better bike over next winter.

My first 'real' bike I bought a Sports Experts (a clothing store who no longer sells bikes) for $336 Canadian in 1986. It was a MTB bike, rigid suspenion, thumb shifters (SIS tho!), quick release seat and sealed Shimano hubs.

After about 2 summers I realized I enjoyed cycling and bought a better one, then a better one, then a better one, etc.

I still have the first one tho, as I use it as my beater bike, you can see it here. http://www.accesswave.ca/~elvisbird/beater.htm

Give it time lad, let her build into it.

Digger

How about buying used?

Shop around in pawn shops, garage sales, and Ebay...

Sometimes Craig's list has good stuff. Denver always has a ton of bikes listed, there was a $190 Schwinn listed in Cleveland on April 7th. http://cleveland.craigslist.org/bik/ Maybe more people will list stuff as they clean out their garages for spring.

I think that I will let her buy the bike from K-Mart. It's just not worth her first cycling experience in years to be ruined by me *****ing at her about buying a cheap bike. I can allow it under one rule: If she likes it and wants to continue, GET A BETTER BIKE.

I'd try to sway her opinon to getting a bike from a bike shop really. I highly doubt you will be getting any warrentys from K-Mart and if you bust it your screwed. I am new myself and have ridden a few bikes and I am going with a Cannondale, and I got myself a 1-year warrenty on it if I have any problems, deffiantly won't get that out of a K-Mart bike.

Take her to the LBS and show her the sexy good stuff, maybe a test ride.
THEN go to look at the bottom end.

"You looked SO hot on that Trek baby"

C'mon..you convinced her to go with you? how hard can this be to sell? :p

I think that I will let her buy the bike from K-Mart. It's just not worth her first cycling experience in years to be ruined by me *****ing at her about buying a cheap bike. I can allow it under one rule: If she likes it and wants to continue, GET A BETTER BIKE.

Honestly, there's nothing wrong with a k-mart bike provided you know how to service a bike and you look it over and readjust everything after purchasing. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with letting her know the pros and cons of kmart vs. lbs so she can make her own decision for the short and long term.

The best way to learn is by making mistakes. If she buys a cheap bike, she'll realise how bad it really is and will get something better. ...Or it's also possible she'll decide that she hates riding and never tries it again.

Just tell her that you'll buy it for her and she doesn't have to make any decisions :p

I think that I will let her buy the bike from K-Mart. It's just not worth her first cycling experience in years to be ruined by me *****ing at her about buying a cheap bike. I can allow it under one rule: If she likes it and wants to continue, GET A BETTER BIKE.


"Let her".....?

"Allow it under one rule"....?

Oooooo, I'd like to try THAT with my wife. She'd climb up one side of me then down the other and strip every bit of flesh from my bones! There'd be a streak of gore a mile long!

It's her deciscion in the end. What you need to do is to try and help her along, since you are more knowledgable in the area of cycling, and I assume she is not, then help her make a decision. Don't preach, if anything like my wife you have to learn the fine art of finesse, that will avoid you getting hurt or even worse THE LOOK.

A dept store bike will do her for this summer. After a few miles on it, take her to your LBS and have her try a low to mid range LBS bike. She'll see the difference in shifting, ride, comfort, service (especially) and be absolutely angry with you for 'letting' her buy that crappy dept store bike. :rolleyes:

It's a dance with the devil, and you'll get burned. My wife's a sweetheart and I love her all to death, but i have learned to do the dance. :D

Digger

Buy the department store bike. Then wait and see what she does with it. Most that I''m familiar with, will faithfully start out with 1-3 miles almost everyday. This lasts about 2 to 3 weeks. About that time interest in cycling plummits to about zero. Any department store bike will stand up to what your neophyte cycling girlfriend can do to it. And with minimal mechanic skill and some common sense you can make sure the bike is in good tune. If by some slim chance, her 1-3 mile rides start hitting the 8-12 mile range and she doesn't drop it after a month or so, then you might end up with a real two wheeled fanatic on your hands. At that point, if you're concerned with the reliability of the inexpensive starter bike (department store bike), go shop for a used bike at an LBS.

Buy the department store bike. Then wait and see what she does with it. Most that I''m familiar with, will faithfully start out with 1-3 miles almost everyday. This lasts about 2 to 3 weeks. About that time interest in cycling plummits to about zero. Any department store bike will stand up to what your neophyte cycling girlfriend can do to it. And with minimal mechanic skill and some common sense you can make sure the bike is in good tune. If by some slim chance, her 1-3 mile rides start hitting the 8-12 mile range and she doesn't drop it after a month or so, then you might end up with a real two wheeled fanatic on your hands. At that point, if you're concerned with the reliability of the inexpensive starter bike (department store bike), go shop for a used bike at an LBS.

I started riding a bike after 35 years, my husband took me to a little bike shop and let me get a mountain bike (maybe a little better bike then a K-Mart bike). I loved it and couldn't stay off of it. He himself had a pretty cheap bike too. I was really glad when we decided (about a year later) to just visit other bike shops, get a little more knowledgeable and see what was out there. I tried several different bikes, from the bottom to almost the best and what a difference. I decided to go more high-end just because it did shift better and rode better over all. Take your girlfriend to your local bike shop and just have her ride a few different ones before she decides to buy, she will make up her own mind. Don't nag her (you guys don't like being nagged), just tell her you want her to try them and don't even want her to buy it just yet. You will save a lot of arguments in the long run--if she finally decides she wants a K-Mart, let her get it, bicycling may end up not being her "thing" at all.

She can HAVE my wife's "Roadmaster" if she wants to pay for shipping on the 400 pound beast. It's got about 4 laps around the block on it. LOL! :D

K-mart is still around? i thought they went bankrupt?

Different angle, a competent build will get a good return if unused and sold.
50-70% maybe.
Economy bikes are worth very little when resold and usually have eroded to un rideable condition.
$20 to the neighbor kid.

Digger, I like your wife. Her & I could be sisters.

www.kustomkruiser.com

your wife would look good on it in short shorts

Digger, I like your wife. Her & I could be sisters.


I think there must be some hellcat genes in her ancestry. ;)

Aww, she's a great gal. She makes sure I am fed well, as I would live on cereal, bagels, cofffee and canned soup if I lived alone.

Funny thing tho, my supervisor/friend of mine is terrified of her.