No, I'm not breaking my no N+1 resolution for myself, but my wife may be getting a new bike this week.

She has been occasionally riding her Trek Calypso cruiser bike for the last few years, but for the past several months she has been talking about getting something a little more suitable for slightly longer rides on more varying terrain so she can participate in more of the family oriented rides with our cycling club and with my son and me. She has also talked about wanting to do more rides on the tandem with me in order to join us for even more rides. I am very happy that she is starting to gain more interest in riding. I have been very careful not to try to coax her towards such an interest. This is truly her own idea.

We had discussed some general types of bike she might want with the idea of getting her something for her birthday in March. Something along the lines of a fitness hybrid seems to be what she wants. We had looked at pictures and specs of Specialized Globe Viennas and Specialized Vita models, with the Viennas looking like a better match to her plans and preferences. The Vita may be just a little too much toward road bike for her at this point.

Well, it just happens that our good friends at our LBS have had a rough few months and are having a big sale, drastically cutting prices on all their in stock bikes through the end of this month - that's through this Saturday. They don't have any of the exact models we were considering, but they do have a 53cm 2008 Globe Woman's model marked down more than 30% below the original price. She likes the looks and it fits her, so she gave it a test ride. She took right to it. The riding position may need some minor tweaking, but nothing outside the easy adjustment range of the bike. The bike's specs fall right between the 2009 Vienna 1 and Vienna 2. It doesn't have the sexy curves of the new model, but it is still a sharp looking bike and looks to be very well designed for short rides and commutes on a variety of paved and smooth dirt or gravel surfaces with its rigid fork and 700cX35 Nimbus Sport tires. It will be easy to add fenders, racks and other accessories if and when she decides she wants them. We'll have to tighten the belt a little to absorb the expense not planned at this time, but it will save us about $150 under what we probably would have spent on the Vienna 2 and later, when the tax refund arrives, we won't have that expense to deal with. I'm thinking an Anniversary trip to Savannah might be nice.

Here's the bike. If she decides to go through with it, we'll pick it up Friday.