I own a sagres. It was the first bike before the cabon fiber obsession. All i can say is "it works" I rode it for about 400 miles before i bought a real road bike, but it was great.
I broke a spoke last week learning to trackstand, but i weigh 195lbs., and I had previously knocked that wheel out of true with a rut in the road stunt.
The sagres is still my commuter/city bike. I think it's great. The gearing is great, although honestly i never leave the middle ring, and just shift through the cogs. The wifey might appreciate the granny on long steep climbs, but the big ring seems pretty useless to me...
When i was just starting out, downtube shifters made me feel pretty unstable. Any newbie will really appreciate the trigger things on the sagres, or real brifters...
The league may be better if she'll only be riding with you on flat open roads, clear of immediate danger. But if she's just getting started, i'd be willing to bet that the convenience of stable, accessable shifting will outweigh the convenience of a few extra hand positions
just my slightly inebriated $0.02
Last edited by brianappleby; 12-16-05 at 02:52 AM.