jtuds

Hi folks

I am new to the forum and have a question for you experts

My wife and I are approaching our 6th anniversary and as timing would have it, we have been riding together recently and she is keen to do more. As such, she has recommended that we buy new bikes for our anniversary.

I am currently on a 2009 Rocky Mountain Vapor with hybrid tires. She's riding a Specialized Dolce that's about 5 years old and borrowed from my sister never used it. She was nervous about the road tires when she first got on it but has gained confidence each time.

My plan is to ride longer distances (50-80km) and cover shorter distances faster. Her goal (for now) is to ride with me on leisurely rides on a bike that will allow her to venture out further, confidently and comfortably.

My concern is that as she gets more used to riding, she might want to take on a long ride, but might have the wrong bike is she goes with a hybrid. I think she should be looking at a bike with drop bars that will have wider tires with some tread for comfort and traction/confidence.

So, I am thinking she should be looking at cyclocross bikes or a gravel-focused bike for her. She is averse to the high cost of bikes, so it might be a challenge to get her into this style of bike in the price range she is comfortable with, but I think spending more now would be better than getting something that can't go what she might want to do a year form now, and then having to buy a whole new bike.

Thoughts?

RonH

Visit a bike shop or two and test ride every bike style that appeals to you and to her. Tell the owner about your goals and budget. Then buy the bikes that speak to you.
Many people ride 30-50 mile rides on a hybrid, if it is a good quality, higher end bike. She may find that she is comfortable on a road bike too. You don't have to put skinny tires on it. The right saddle can make any ride comfortable.

jtuds

You'll probably say "ask the guy at the bike shop"...but how will we know what bike can take wider, grippier tires?

Also when you say good quality, higher end in regard to a hybrid are you referring to the bikes marketed as "flat bar road bikes" which borrow road bike components and have carbon forks? Or are you talking about those hybrids that have suspension on the front but narrower, less knobby tires than a mountain bike? The term "hybrid" seems to be loosely defined in the cycling world....perhaps due to its inherent vagueness.

10 Wheels

Let her pick out her bike.

fietsbob

Pick the Bike Shop You Like, First.

jtuds

Where did I say I was not going to? Does asking for assistance making an informed decision constitute not deferring to her for the actual selection?

10 Wheels

So she doesn't use a computer?

jtuds

You're incredibly simple. Hell of a way to engage someone bud.

kuroba

Take a look at the Giant/Liv Invite. It's a women specific adventure road (gravel?) bike. It has tire clearance of 42-45mm front and 35mm back (according to the person of Liv Cycling USA who answered my FB message about this topic).

I don't know if your wife is as 'vertically challenged' as I am (5' even here), but that model comes in smaller sizes too.

I *really* wanted the Invite for myself, but the distributor in my country won't order it as there's no market for it here. But so far, I've read great reviews of it, so it might be worth a look if you have a Giant dealer near.

Maelochs

I would explain to her what you are thinking.

If she is comfortable on narrow tires now, then she will probably only continue to grow more comfortable .... it is hard to know but it seems her worry was something like "They look so skinny I don't think they;ll be stable." Now she knows that's not the case. Plenty of road bikes can take 25- or 28-mm tires, which is pretty wide. 28-mm tires and a proper fitting and saddle should make riding comfortable. And if she doesn't like spending money, she surely doesn't want to buy a bike she will outgrow in a season and need to replace.

Also explain to her that bikes last a Looong time, so a bike is an investment more than a plain purchase. It is better to buy the right bike with good quality components which you will enjoy for years than to try to save a few bucks now and regret it later over and over. An extra few hundred now is fifty cents a day for the next two years ... better to spend fifty cents than to regret not buying the right bike every day for the next two years.

naturally since I don't know you or your wife, I have no idea if this is good or bad advice, but it is the best I could give based on my own experiences. Good luck.

jefnvk

Having gone through this with my then-girlfriend, the only good advice is have a general starting point (you already seem to have one, alternatively, if she likes the Dolce, why not start there?) and start having her sit on bikes and test them out. If yours is anything like mine, she'll start working out what she likes and dislikes about each, settling on something you would have never considered after coming up with a bunch of necessities that would have never made your list and be quite happy with it. Don't discount women's specific bikes, they exist for a reason, but also realize there is nothing saying she must be on one.

Truth be told, the distances you are doing can be accomplished by most bikes. Tires are easily swapped out for various conditions/skills, so long as you give a bit of thought to clearance. The girlfriend was nervous about going from 40mm gravel tires on her hybrid to 32mm smoother tires, but after a couple rides she was just fine with it. As to what can take them, a quick eyeball should give you an idea of how much bigger you can get (looking at the current tire size and the clearance it has), and if you get it narrowed down to a couple models, internet searches or the salesman can give you a ideas as to what has successfully been fit.

TKJava

BTW Giant/liv is running a sale right now

travbikeman

While your thinking for the best for her, your Wife is really the one that needs to make the decision on what she wants. We've had postings on this site from angry spouses that greatly dislike what was chosen for them. She needs to choose what she likes otherwise she may not want to ride.

Give advice, but don't choose is my advice to you.

Oh, and by the way, there are a great many of us whom do very long rides on hybrids. I'm planning on a 65 mile ride this weekend myself. Others have easily done century's. I have talked to many people whom ride well over 330 miles from Pittsburgh to DC on the GAP and CnO trails.

10 Wheels

I just bought a $3000 bike from a husband that bought it for his wife.
She rode it TWICE then said no More.

Got it for $1500

americanrecluse

Hi @jtuds!

I am no pro, so I only want to speak to the one little bit that I quoted above - my hybrid (Trek FX 7.3) is happy to go on longer rides. I'm a newbie, so my longest ride thus far is about 52km. Despite my newness (haven't ridden a bike in 30+ years), it was comfortable until the end. So, no need to eliminate the hybrid option.

jtuds

So we hit 2 shops and the Trek store today. Unsurprisingly, there were very few bikes in her size assembled or even in stock. She's pretty short so she'd be a 48-50cm. We tried some Felts at the Trek store but their fitting guy said the setup of the frames didn't really work with her build. So she tried a Trek and it fit well but was outside the price range...alum frame, carbon fork and full 105.

Another shop had a full 105 specialized from last year for like $1250 but no sizes.

As a last attempt we went to the local Rocky Mountain/Fuji dealer and they only had one women's bike, a Fuji with Shimano Tourney equipped (below Claris). Then the guy at the shop says "too bad you're not a bit taller, we have this full carbon bike that's a steal" and the owner hears and says "we have a small".

So, he grabs this Fuji granfondo and she takes it for a ride. It's above the budget but a great value...so we took an hour and had a beer at a nearby patio and she decided that it's better to pay a bit more for a great bike now than to buy something that's lower end and maybe be looking for a higher end bike a few years from now. I guess the thinking is that if we decide to take on longer rides, she'll already have the bike for it and if we never go more than 20-30k in a day then at least the bike wasn't so expensive that it was a waste.

It's a Fuji Granfondo Classico 1.3...it's a sweet ass bike, and from a great local shop...so all in all a good day.

Looigi

I have come across people who fear or are otherwise concerned about skinny tires. They seem to think they'll be unstable, tricky to ride or lack traction. They aren't and they don't, except perhaps on loose or soft surfaces. Big fat tires are no more stable or easier to ride on hard surfaces.

ltxi

I find them less stable, actually. At least at speed.

02Giant 

Very nice, congrats!

italktocats

i seem to miss something: whats WRONG with her current bike (or yours)?

Juan Foote

Aside from possible fit issues with the Dolce being someone else's bike originally, I cannot see where it isn't perfectly capable of doing everything you want to do with it?

Since SHE is keen on the new purchase, take advantage of it. Use the experience you have had up to this point and ASK her what about the current bike she would change. It's really "simple" to shop when looking only at the big brands, as you know they exist as well as having incredible amounts of information about them available online. Nevermind the stores around every corner in major metropolis around America....

Something else that might be of help is a professional fit. Assuming the bike she is riding fits, perhaps it just needs the fine tuning the fit will provide in order to find that relative comfort on long rides. For myself, I have a GREAT road bike and years of riding under my belt and have found that anything over around 60 miles just becomes more uncomfortable than the fun I am having. The further I go the more I get in diminishing returns...but that's just me.

In regards to 10 wheels, I would think you must have misunderstood him. Great guy, and no simpleton.

jtuds

Well her current bike wasn't hers. It was borrowed and I think it could have been a long term borrow but she wanted her own so...I wasn't going to argue.

mine was a mountain bike. I'll keep it for that.

ColonelSanders

Looks like you guys now have a great bike each, with that Trek Emonda listed in your profile.

jtuds

I sure think so. It's the most I've ever spent on a bike and the most I can ever see myself spending. Hard to believe that for many, that's an entry level bike...for me it's high end. This is it for the foreseeable future. Same for her. We're happy with our purchases.

kuroba

So she's short as me! I'm around a size 48 myself (5' with super long lengs). BTW, some shops do assemble bikes for you to try, at least I've had that done before (and sadly the bike ended up being too large for me).

Wow, that looks like a sweet bike! It's waaay out of my budget, really more like high end to me too. I've heard great things of Fuji bikes. Glad she could find something in her size that she liked, I'm sure the bike will end up paying itself in the long run