Road Cycling - Guy's Thoughts Needed.......

Hey, I posted this as a follow up to a thread I had started in the women's forum, but since guys can't get in there I am posting this here to get your thoughts and opinions. To catch you up on the story, I was having a hard time picking between the ladies version of the OCR3 and the guys version (which I liked better). I picked the guys version because I liked the black/silver/blue frame color better and they said the WSD features wouldn't make a difference when fitted properly. So here is the post.....

"The funny end to this story is that I have been waiting all this time (1 month) to get my OCR 3. I called the LBS and asked about it, they said it could be anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months. My husband already has his OCR 3. They asked if I would be willing to take the OCR 2 instead. They would help considerably with the price difference because of my trouble. I said, Hell Yeah! The only problem is, my man now has the bike that is a "step down" and I think he is a little irritated. I guess he will have to deal with it. I should have the bike by Friday or next Monday. Here is a pic....."

The question I wanted to ask the guy's about, will my husband having the "step down" bike cause a problem? He said it wouldn't, but I think he is trying to be nice. What would you be thinking in the same position? When we bought MTB's 2 years ago, mine had better components and he always said that the extra gears I have allowed me to "smoke" him on the flats. The funny thing is, he smokes (literally) right before a ride and leaves me standing still on the hills most of the time. I get irritated that he is a smoker and can out-do me in certain situations. Don't get me wrong, we aren't hateful to each other at all (just really fierce competitors ;) ), I just don't want him to be upset because I keep getting the better bike.....

here is some imput for you --

my girlfriend has a better bike than me, and when i say better i mean about 6 pounds lighter, 2 years newer, 105 gears while i have "sora equivalent" or whatever that means, and beter tires for road biking. When we finished a long uphill battle on a 30 mile trail, i am usually more wiped out than she is. people make fun of me for "having my girlfriend be a better rider than me", if i was to EVER say "well her bike is about 100x more efficient than mine" they would castrate me.

so, if you have a better bike and you outride him, he cant fall back on that as a reason. it would just make it worse...

If I remember right, it's the same frame. Only a few components have been changed. Most of the difference is going to be in how long those parts last. Performance wise there shouldn't be a noticeable difference. If it was my gal, I'd say 'way to go'.

I will relate 2 stories from my personal expierence with my wife.

Story #1 - 3 years ago we decided to get into biking to loose some weight. She had never owned anything better than a XXXMart bike and I had raced mtn bikes in HS. So I go to the LBS where I had always bought my bikes and got us a deal on 2 bikes a Giant XTC SE2 for me (near the top of their hard tail line) and a Giant Rincon SE for her (low mid end of their hard tails). 3 months later we found out she was pregnant and in the 3 years since she rode the bike a total of 10 times...maybe...but still to this day she gives me a bag of crap for buying the top of the line bike and her the lower end bike. I just sold her bike and traded my XTC SE2 for a Specialized Sirrus Sport for her, hopefully she likes this bike more.

Story #2 - when we were still dating my wife went to college 120 or so miles from here. In her Senior year she got a job several miles from her college and needed a way to get there. To facilitate this I bought myself a newer car and gave her my old car...within 3 months she was driving my newer car and I had the old one. Ever since she has ALWAYS had the nicer/newer car. Honestly this doesn't bother me but I have to laugh when I bring it up and she says it isn't true.

Anyway my point is that if your spouse is anything like mine then yes it will bother him. :D

I dont think it would be a prob with me personaly, i used to go steady witha girl sponcered by klien, her bike was like 6k, mine under 900. In retrospect of how it helped me achieve better performance from myself, and when i was ready i upgraded as needed. Ohh and she can still kick my tail, hands down and i now race for the USMC...

If it were me, I'd be bothered too... not because it's a step-down but because I really truly dislike the Sora shifters. Then again, if it were me I would have passed up the OCR3 in the first place because of that. ;)

I met a couple on a ride where the husband wanted to get his wife interested in cycling so he bought her a really nice bike. He was riding a Look KG381 frame with full Campy Record and Mavic Ksyrium SSC wheels. He bought his wife a Giant TCR Elite with full Dura-Ace and Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheels which had just been introduced at the time. I made a brief remark about how she has the nicer wheels and during my conversation with them, he joked several times about how he was conspiring to swap wheels with her bike. She shot him a couple of angry glances. It might have been all in jest but you never know.

The question I wanted to ask the guy's about, will my husband having the "step down" bike cause a problem?

No problem what-so-ever! None at all. In fact, he's going to love it! However, if you want to keep him from spending money on a bunch of upgrade do-dads for his bike, you are going to have to hold back a little whenever you ride together.

Well, wouldn't he do the same thing as you, given the reverse situation? I bet he would.

He should look at it from the bright side... If you had turned down this great opportunity just for him, then he would owe you big :) It's always better NOT to be in debt to the "better half" :D

redhed,

i totally know what you mean by "just really fierce competitors". my gf and I are like that too, we definitely love each other, but we also love getting the best of one another. whether it is who can play pool better, swim faster, bike longer, or get the questions on Jeopardy, we compete all the time. its part of them fun :)
he probably won't mind too much if you have a better bike though.

Is the engine, tell him that. Just makes sure he won't get his ass whipped by another ride riding an even lesser bike. :D

I would gladly get my wife a MUCH better bike than I have, if she would just ride it! :rolleyes:

Its not about the bike.

I would gladly get my wife a MUCH better bike than I have, if she would just ride it! :rolleyes:

Same here!

yeah, i'd be stoked to have my partner be somebody who was a more hard core cyclist than i am, and i'd only be really jealous about them having a nicer bike if they didn't ride it and mine was less than i deserved for how much i was riding.

i think we are all in the same boat here men, we dont really mind if u have a nicer bike as long as you ride it. I know i wish my girl would get a frame, hell i would even let her ride me look... well mabey not that ^_^

I'd love for my wife to ride.

My OCR 3 has been upgraded with Ultegra components (still looking for a deal on the brakes) and if I can talk her into riding I think I'll put the same components on a bike for her. EBay saved the day on what would have been a huge expense.

I can't see someone being troubled by their spouse getting better equipment... makes for a no-brainer for Christmas/birthday presents.

You guys all crack me up! :lol: Now I don't feel so bad. The other day he said something to me that I found interesting. We were talking about how if you were to think of your spouse at their best, what picture would you get in your mind? I said something about him wearing a particular pair of jeans, driving his truck....etc. You know what he said???? "I pictured you on your bike." I would have never thought he would say something like that. I was really surprised. I guess he kind of owes me one, I helped him move a 400 lb safe into our den the other night. It is really ugly and I made him put it in the corner of the room. I guess now we will be even..... ;)

No biggie here....given I would have already started to tweak and tune the s**t out of my bike the week after I got it. My Trek that's only 4 days old is already getting my special touch (good special, or special ed, i dunno...).

Either way, one level of bike should not be a world of difference. Plus if he really wants to keep up, he can just get the gearing that's identical or at the least close, and if the wheelsets are different, get new ones...that will put him very close to your bike's efficency anyways (well minus how smooth it may shift, but that's butter compared to how smooth the pedaling is).

A few thoughts:

Personally, I'd be glad my partner got a deal on a better bike...

2ND time though? I'd be a little jelous, and next time I'd probably wait until she got a bike BEFORE getting mine, just to MAKE SURE I'd get the better bike for once. ;)

Hell, if you guys enjoy riding together, and arn't too competitive, who cares!

Thread Hijack... :rolleyes: Sorry

Hey "I have no legs" there is a USMC Cycling team? Where can I get info on that ?

If he has a problem with your nicer bike, then tell him that if he quits smoking he can spend the money he saves from not buying cigarettes on uprades for his bike.

two birds w/ one stone.

If he has a problem with your nicer bike, then tell him that if he quits smoking he can spend the money he saves from not buying cigarettes on uprades for his bike.

two birds w/ one stone.

LOL! I put $5 every day I don't smoke into a jar for that very reason! w00t! That's the ultimate advice I think thus far on this thread!

If he has a problem with your nicer bike, then tell him that if he quits smoking he can spend the money he saves from not buying cigarettes on uprades for his bike.

two birds w/ one stone.

I try not to nag him about smoking anymore. I figure when he can't breathe he won't smoke. Although I may use that as leverage. ;)

LOL! I put $5 every day I don't smoke into a jar for that very reason! w00t! That's the ultimate advice I think thus far on this thread!

How much have you accumulated in the jar? How did you quit? Cold turkey?

I quit over a year ago - cold turkey (my grandfather died of small cell lung cancer - 50 some odd year smoker) just the thought of not being able to live a long life with my fiance was enough. I should have started a jar back then, what's that 7 dollars a day (texas taxes) times 400 or so days $2800 buys a pretty nice bike.

Doing the Ride for the Roses this year too BTW.

Congrats to the quitters! We are thinking about making a mini-vacation around the Ride for the Roses next year.