psycho d

Hola. A good friend of mine wants to get into cycling. She is an expert horseback rider, so she has athletic skills. After checking out some bikes yesterday, she fell in love with a carbon De Rosa. i want to see her get into riding bikes cuz, well, it is the best thing next to sex and offshore fishing. But i think this bike is a little silly. She really cannot afford it, and who knows if she will truly like to ride. Any thoughts as to how to get her to but a lesser bike for now and maybe get her dream bike later. Also, i do not want this to become a "this bike is better than" thread as she wants the bike because it is expensive and pretty, not due to any technical attributes that it may have. TNX.
d

bitterspeak

Have you tried reasoning with her at all? There must be something that she likes within her price range.

In any case, why don't you rent/borrow a bike for her and take her riding for a month or so. See what she thinks that time period. That'll help her decide.

Daytrip

Good luck with that.

I'd tell her that the De Rosa is a racing bike, and she needs to work up to that level with a more pedestrian road bike like a Trek or Giant.

But like I said, lots of luck. If she's anything like my wife, it's all about the bling.

wfrogge

No such thing as one being not good enough for a bike (because of price).

Treespeed

Did she test ride any other bikes? I would think that would be the best way to get her to see that the differences at that price level are subtle, especially to a beginner.

johnny99

I want a $4500 bike too, but I'm not going to buy one. Maybe you can get her to test ride some cheaper bikes with very similar geometries. I really doubt that a beginner will notice any difference between a $2000 carbon bike and a $4500 carbon bike (other than the paint job).

Benjamin11

You probably have tried, but just explain to her that she should get something wayy less expensive to get her feet wet with. There are other great bikes for a fraction of the cost, as you know, just tell her. If she simply cannot live without the De Rosa, whatever, it's her money.

JoelS

Geeze. If she can afford the dough and likes the bike and it fits her, she should just buy it! What's with you guys?

Jynx

try and give an analogy she can understand relating to horses. It is totally unneccesary to get a $4500 bike as a first bike ESPECIALLY if you can't afford to throw that money away.


Read the OP

roadiejorge 

If she can't afford it then she should be questioning purchasing a bicycle that costs so much money, especially since she's just getting into cycling.

BarracksSi

Ask her if she'd own Secretariat as a first horse.

We all lust after expensive bikes, but we all lust after Angelina Jolie (or Brad Pitt), too. I'd be satisfied with riding something more accessible.

MrCjolsen

Racing bikes often sacrifice comfort in exchange for weight. To a recreational rider, comfort is far more important.

If your friend wants to drop $4500 on a bike, tell her to get a custom built steel frame fitted exactly to her dimensions and pick and choose the exact components she wants. And if she can manage to spend a few hundred dollars less, she'll be able to invest in accessories that will make her cycling experience far more enjoyable.

velocycling

$4500 is not that much to horse people. Once you buy it there are no boarding costs which run hundreds of $ a month. Sounds like she is just trading one horse for another. It maybe like telling her that she should not buy a horse she likes. She needs a beginner horse. Lame advice. It is not like the bike is going to buck her off. If she likes fine Italian style, go for it.

roadiejorge 

You mean the idea of huffing and puffing up a small hill on a Pinarello Prince isn't appealing?




Have to disagree about using some sense in purchasing a bike being called lame advice, especially when the OP posted it was her first bike and couldn't really afford it. No one is implying she needs to buy a Huffy but for around $1K she can buy herself a good bike and if she really gets into the sport she'll have a better perspective on what she wants and needs rather than just buying something based on appearance.

Sir Real

How do you know she really can't afford it?

psycho d

Unfortunately, daytrip nailed it. She did ride a few bikes, like the feel of a Jamis (which had woman specific, narrower bars), and proceeded to want the yet-to-be-built De Rosa. What i hope to glean from ya'll are some fresh arguments to persuade her to get a cheaper bike. Her main argument (irrational yes, but inarguable nonetheless) is that if she got that cheaper bike then all she'd be thinking about is the other bike. Personally, i'd like to see her get a middle of the road steel bike, but we coulnldn't find one for her to ride. Thanks again for the help/support.
derek

aprilm

Tell her that buying a really good bike is nothing like buying an expensive, highly-trained horse. Also, only with a lot of experience will a rider discern the difference between a $1k and a $100k horse. Because she doesn't ride bikes, she won't be able to tell the difference between a $1k bike and a $5k bike, and therefore won't be able to enjoy feeling that difference.

I ride horses, and that's the best I can come up with for now.

Edit: Also, post a link to a pic of the bike or something. Maybe we can find something similar and less expensive.

roadiejorge 

Vireo

I love that people suggested talking to her in language that she might understand -- like horses. I say let HER decide what is too much money or bike.

Being a horse person I'm sure she can appreciate the expenses associated with a sport. I would hazzard a guess it is a lot more expensive to care, transport and race a living thing than a bike. That is, of course, if she owns or has owned her own horse(s).

BarracksSi

Oh yeah, we're talking about bikes...

roadiejorge 

Perhaps a little distraction is what's in order, try showing her a bike that's aesthetically pleasing but also "middle of the road" since appearance seems to be such a big thing. She's got an irrational argument for buying something that might be out of reach, and under those circumstances it's best to start out with a bike you like to look at but more importantly you want to ride and in that case something that's a little more comfort oriented should be a good place to start.

roadiejorge 

In the end that's where the decision has to be made, some of us were responding to the point made by the OP about her possibly not being able to afford it.

Basil Moss

All the gear, no idea...

I ride a Specialized Allez, with the basic sora kit, and won a local hillclimb on it. You don't need the priciest bike, certainly not as your first bike. People like me will laugh as they sprint past her up a hill, riding bikes twice as heavy and a fraction the price. Not really, but she really should get a more basic bike until she's confident she'll get good use out of it, unless she's rich and used to spoiling herself.

mustang1

Nothing wrong with getting a bike for the bling. If she can't afford it, then she won't get it. If she gets it on credit, then she can afford it. It's the bling ya know.

wanders

That smarts.