Sunnytadpole

Yes Hokie! That's exactly what we saw yesterday! Most of the mens selection was a mix of Specialized in those models, or the Trek. Womens side was almost all Trek. Which I'm not bothered by too much. We are in an area where I've seen quiet a few Treks out and we do have a Trek dealership in the area. My husband, on the other hand, was disappointed they didn't have any Crossroads and didn't even want to try the other models.
I'll go back and have some fun on some Treks.
I'm not feeling disappointed by the lack of product because there isn't really a lack of product. I just didnt want to he the only one of us testing out bikes. But next time I may just ditch him at the door! Haha! I'm still pretty excited and ready to get this going. 🚴*♀️

Skipjacks

Don't feel confined by the women's vs men's models.

Yes, the women's models are supposedly engineered for fit women better.....with different geometry to try to and compensate for men and women having different arm length to leg length ratios than men. But...those are averages based on the entire population. You are an individual. If the woman's bike fits better for you, great. If the men's bike feels better, buy that one.

Women's bikes will tend to have a wider saddle too, because on average your hips are wider than a man's. But saddles are easily replaced. If you like the fit of a men's bike but would prefer a wider saddle, just buy a wider saddle for the men's bike. (Most bike shops will give you a deal on a different saddle to sell you a bike, if not give you a different one outright from an old inventory pile)

But again, that is based on averages. Get what fits YOU.

And women's bikes tend to come in pink more often than men's bikes. If you like pink, great. If gun metal grey is more to your liking, you'll find a wider selection in men's bikes. Red is more gender neutral and appears on both styles.

What you don't need anymore is the sloping top tube that makes it a step through bike. That is THE visually defining characteristic of a woman's bike.

But unless you wear ankle length skirts when you ride around in 1939, that doesn't serve a useful purpose anymore. (If you do, great...we're not here to judge. That little dog probably has it coming)

livedarklions

That's a Waltham Safety Model 1900 Orient bicycle with an aftermarket rear rack, chain guard, dognapping basket and sidewalls.

She should really have a front fender because as it is now, she might end up melting if she rides through a puddle.

Sunnytadpole

🤣😂🤣😂

livedarklions

Oh, and if you need the specs:

https://www.proteanpaper.com/scart_p...00000000001298

Skipjacks

Fenders make the bike less aerodynamic.

Horrible for riding through tornadoes.

livedarklions

Have you wind tunnelled that?

Skipjacks

Yes. In real world conditions. But in the test storm my data was whisked away in the wind and apparently resides in a very remote place now. Careful if you go there to look at the findings. They have the highest per capita death rate due to being crushed by falling houses. Dangerous place. Rumor has it they celebrate people committing manslaughter as heroes instead of filing criminal charges. And the locals are known to attack visitors for their shoes.

livedarklions

We should start a thread on how best to respond to being chased by avian primates.

noglider 

I'm a fan of the Trek FX, as my wife has one. Try it. Try as many bikes as you can. You'll find one you like. And it is not a life long decision. After you get some experience, your preference is likely to change. For instance, you may want a heavily padded saddle to start, but most people who put in a lot of miles eventually want something firm.

Sunnytadpole

... on your hybrid bike! 😉

Sunnytadpole

noglider, after reading up on the FX, it seems like one that would fit my fitness and commuting goals. Though I do plan to test out as many as possible. I know it's not a permanent choice but it is one I plan to keep for a good few years until I've become conditioned for something much bigger.
as far as the saddle goes, I'd probably consider a gel one over a padded one. I'm not a fan of soft.

Skipjacks

Truth! Hybrids tend to be a little heavier. That provides protections from being carried off by air.

And the more aggressive frame and wider tires than a road bike make it faster to bike through a poppy field, should that need ever come up.

noglider 

My wife loves her FX, and it is suitable for long distance riding, commuting, and trail riding. For long distance, the fact that it has only one hand position might be a limitation, but you could put extensions on the bars for one or two more positions.

livedarklions

Yes, I put bar ends on mine, and I can get into basically a riding the hoods position. Only drawback is having to buy the $12 adapter for the proprietary handlebar shape.

dalenjune

Hi Sunny, check out the Marin Fairfax series. June has one and she is pretty happy w/ it. I was recently in the same boat as you worrying about needing heavy duty rims etc. as I weight about an eighth of a ton. I picked up a Breezer RADAR gravel bike and love it. June and I are also in our early 40's and getting back into cycling to lose weight/increase fitness. Good luck in your search and enjoy the ride!

Sunnytadpole

Did some test riding today but I was so nervous and wobbly! Please tell me this goes away soon! Tested out a couple of Treks. I'm a bit concerned that some people have stated the components were cheap and that they had problems with the gears. This was particularly with the FX models.
this weekend I'll be testing out the Specialized models!

taz777

@Sunnytadpole: Your confidence will grow the more you ride! Picture yourself in a year's time when you do the test rides.

Skipjacks

I was just saying this to a buddy I gave my old bike to, who was new to riding. The nervousness goes away.

Sitting on a machine 3.5 feet off the ground that makes you go really fast while you balance on 2 skinny wheels is not a natural thing. Your brain is telling you "stop this insanity" when you first start riding.

But you get past that. Eventually your brain realizes that you're not going to die and calms down.

The cheap components on a lower end bike will wear out sooner. They aren't going to just disintegrate during the test ride. So don't feel like the bike will collapse out from under you.

I was thinking about a suggestion someone else made the other day, about getting a used bike now. There are a couple of advantages to this.

1) If you crash it while you're still learning to ride, who cares? It's a $100 craigslist bike. So what if you scratch up the paint or bend a wheel?

2) You plan on losing a lot of weight. That's not just going to make riding easier for the Newtonian Physics reasons. It's going to change things like your posture and what not that may greatly change what makes a bike comfortable. A bike that doesn't feel so comfortable today might feel a lot better 50-60 pounds from now. It happened to me when I started commuting. I dropped like 20 pounds and suddenly my mountain bike that I loved and commuted on felt horribly ill fitted.

3) You're new to riding. You have no idea what you like. You have this idea that you want a certain style bike today. But after a year of riding on a used bike and getting a real feel for what you like and don't like about it, you might have an entirely different vision of what kind of nice bike you want to buy. Better to realize you want a road bike BEFORE you buy a gravel bike. (Or a mountain bike before you buy a hybird, or a cylocross before you buy a beach cruiser, etc etc etc). It might not even take a year. You might get a better feel for it in 2 months.

On the flip side, you're looking at hybrid bikes. They are going to be good all around bikes that go just about anywhere and are always going to be good for cruising around town / picking a few things up at the store / riding out to dinner / etc. So if you buy a hybrid today and realize you'd like to get into back trail mountain biking or do more distance road riding, you can always buy a 2nd bike for that specific purpose and keep the hybrid for the basic putzing around town. (That's where I am today. I LOVE my Crosstrail and commute on it regularly. I'm not getting rid of it, but I'm thinking about a 2nd bike for doing extended full day rides because the Crosstrail is just a little under powered for that)

finch204

Have you considered test riding Electra bikes? With their crank forward designs, it allows you to sit on the saddle and still be able to put your foot down any time you want. I don't think they will be as fun to ride as say a Trek FX or a Specialized Sirrus, but if the goal is to start riding, then it is worth a consideration. The bike stores that sells Trek bikes should also be selling Electra bikes.

Sunnytadpole

taz777, I'm hoping in a years time I will be able to start training for some things like a long trail ride or maybe a minimarathon or something! Not to win but because I really have always wanted to do things like that.

Sunnytadpole

finch, I'm not really interested in something like that right now. I'm not interested in anything like a cruiser bike at all. Mostly because it wouldn't allow me the ability to challenge myself. I would be limited in what I could do. It also wouldn't be a match for the inclines on the way to the library or other places I would like to go. That's why the interest in a hybrid, I could commute and use it for fitness on the open road or on paved trails.
thank you for the suggestion though! if I wasnt interested in anything other than casual strolls I would consider an electra or another cruiser.

Sunnytadpole

skipjack, I'm looking for an everything bike to build a history with, so to speak. Lol I wouldn't mind used if I knew I wouldn't have to take it to the LBS for some maintenance or repair before I could use it. The other issue is I'm so short and it's not a guarantee I'd find something to suit both my height and the biking needs I'm preferring. I plan to use my hybrid for trips to library, grocery, dr appts, riding to the lake, fitness and some paved trails. We live in D.C. area and theres no use driving out here- the traffic is a nightmare! But there are lots of trails I'd love to experience with my husband!
I'm pretty sure in a year or 2 I'll likely be looking for a road bike as I'm really not extreme enough for a mountain bike. I like to challenge myself and I think hybrid would fit that more than a cruiser would. I have big goals for myself! As far as my height goes and the bike, the LBS says I'd need a size small and I could just build my seat height up every week or so by raising the seat. But I do have the issue where there doesnt feel like enough clearance for my legs- they come up too high in some smaller frames. A medium bike frame may be too high as I'm already at tip toes with the seat at the lowest position. I'd give anything for just a few more inches of height!

livedarklions

Which FX? I have the FX 3 and the shifting on it is terrific. The only complaint people seem to have is that you have to hit the shifter for the front deraileur a second time if your on the large chain ring in order to line it up for the highest gears, but that's pretty trivial. I alos think it might be a while before you're on the big chain ring much.

I had a similar experience feeling shaky after coming back to it much heavier after many years. If you're like me, some of it's just the gap with how you remember what it was like and what it actually is like now. If you were lighter back in the old days (like me), it was just easier to ride--that weight does make it harder. Also, when you ride regularly, you develop some leg strength that you probably don't have right now. So, your riding speed is probably lower and the amount of effort you need to maintain that slower speed is higher. All other things being equal, I feel more wobbly at slower speeds. I started again, and actually got so discouraged by comparison to how I used to ride, that I put the bike away and worked out in a gym for a couple years. When I came back to it at a lower weight than I had in recent decades, I was shocked to find that my speed and endurance were actually better than they had been in prior decades, any shakiness was gone, and that I was havng a ridiculous amount of fun riding.

You might very well find that you get a lot less wobbly very fast as the leg muscles come back and you steadily lose weight, but if you don't, don't feel like you've "failed" if you need to set it aside to lose a little more weight to feel comfortable riding. Nice thing about a machine, it will be there waiting for you when you're ready.

Sunnytadpole

thanks livedark!

I was looking at the FX2. I like it better than the 3.

you could be right with the pedaling muscles not being conditioned for this yet. I planned on riding from the house to the lake that's a few miles away as a getting use to things again. I'm not opposed to going to the gym and hopping on a stationary spin bike for a few months if need be. I walk to 2 to 2 and a half hours total everyday and I'm getting bored with it. I need to be back on a bicycle to give myself that more intense workout and to be able to get around running errands.
I have this funny way of thinking of "failure". It doesnt exist. I look at it as how much I succeeded. Some days I succeed at something more than other days. ☀️