Need womens advice on bike for my girl.

M

mugen939

New Member
Hi all,

My Girlfriend wants to start riding a bit with me. She's a complete beginner and had no bike experience at all. I've been lookinf around but sadly my compulsive personality keeps gravitating towards bikes in the 1000+ range which is not what she needs at all. SO far the best thing I found was this for 630 shipped:

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Specifications
Type of Frame GT Triple Triangle 6061 aluminum, Hydro formed top/ downtube, No stack headtube. Disc compatible, removeable der. hanger GTw geometry
Fork SR SUNTOUR XCR LO 26", 100mm TRAVEL, HYDRAULIC DAMPING, STEEL STANCHIONS, MAGNESIUM LEG
Sizes XS, S, M, L
Crank FSA DYNA DRIVE, CK-300-TTT, 44/32/22T
Bottom Bracket SHIMANO BB-UN26
Shifters SHIMANO ALIVIO, SL-M430, 9 SPEED RAPID FIRE
Cog Set SHIMANO CS-HG-30, 9 SPEED, 11-34T
Chain HG49, 9 SPEED
Front Derailleur SHIMANO ALIVIO, FD-M430
Rear Derailleur SHIMANO DEORE SHADOW, RD-M592, 9 SPEED
Rims ALEX TD24, 26", DOUBLE WALL, BLACK, W/ MATCHING GRAPHIC
Front Hub ALLOY DISC QR, ALL TERRA BRANDED
Rear Hub ALLOY 9 SPEED CASSETTE DISC QR, ALL TERRA BRANDED
Spokes STAINLESS 14G
Nipples BRASS CP
Tires MAXXIS MOBSTER 26x2.1"
Pedals GT SLIM LINE FLAT PEDAL, CAST ALLOY
Front Brake TEKTRO DRACO HYDRAULIC DISC W/ 180mm ROTOR
Rear Brake TEKTRO DRACO HYDRAULIC DISC W/ 160mm ROTOR
Brake Levers TEKTRO DRACO
Handlebar 6061 ALUMINUM RISER, RISE = 25mm, WIDTH = 685mm, CLAMP = 31.8mm, ALL TERRA BRANDED
Stem 1 1/8" THREADLESS, 3D FORGED, 4-BOLT W/ CNC FACE PLATE, CLAMP = 31.8mm, RISE = 5ﾰ, ALL TERRA BRANDED
Headset FSA NO.10 1 1/8" THREADLESS ZEROSTACK
Grips DUAL DENSITY, GT WING W/ WAFFLE
Saddle GTw Mountain
Seat Post GT All Terra alloy micro adjust
Seat Clamp ALL TERRA ALLOY QR


How does that look to you guys? Does anyone know of a better deal?? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
The best deal is a bike that fits her. If you put her on a bike that fits poorly and take her out, you run the risk of her hating this sport forever. Sounds a bit dramatic, but it is true and I I have seen it happen time and time again.

I am not sure where you live, but if you can take to a good shop and let her try some stuff so at least you have an idea of bike geometry before you order something.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Where are you located?

Guys bicycles in Feasterville, PA did a great job at fitting me, taking a bunch of measurements. My bike is well over $1000 but I'm sure they can do the fitting on any bike. They have a decent collection of bikes.

Campmor in Paramus, NJ also had a good assortment, although I haven't been there in ages so I'm not sure what they have now.

I'm sure there are others... Not really familiar with many other shops.

The other thing you can try out are demo days. Many manufacturers host them. Unfortunately, alot of them are in the western US, but you may be able to find one more local. Trek and Specialized both have women's lines and you might be able to find a Trek demo that is local.

Good Luck!
 
If you're in Union NJ (the Vauxhall I'm thinking of) then go check out High Gear in Millburn. They are good guys and they have plenty of entry level bikes on the floor to get you started. It's cheaper in the end, remember you get what you pay for.
 
Thanks for the advice. This ended up being the hardest bicycle purchase of my life. I've done more research then I ever did, even when choosing even my own bike. We ended up going to 6 different bike shops including. High gear, effingers, diamond cycle, REI, cyclecraft, martys reliable. I have to give a really big shout out to Diamond cycle in montclair. Those are some good people up there. They were very patient and let her demo a few different bikes without pressuring her at all. In the end she was torn between A canondale trail 6 and the GT avalanche. She was equally comfortable on both so she decided that she would go with the best deal. Diamond cycle gave us a really good price on the canondale but after going over the spec sheets the better value was in fact the GT.

She liked the paint job on the Canondale better but she gave more importance to bang for the buck. Now I just hope to get her out and riding as much as possible. That's going to be the hard part, she was complaining today that her butt was hurting from just demoing bikes over the weekend. :( I told her that it would go away over time but she was skeptical, lol. Thanks again for the replies everyone.
 
If she continues to struggle with sore butt, there are a ton of different saddles to choose from, and in that case, it is very personal to your own butt. Good luck! :)
 
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