Nicer hybrid bicycle for wife. Recommendations?
 

Up until recently, my wife didn't ride at all, but two years ago we were in Australia for a while and a bicycle was needed for commuting and so we bought a low end Trek Hybrid - 7.0 FX for about $350. To my delight, she enjoyed riding and began to do some recreational riding, and this has increased with time. Now, in warmer months anyway, she rides 3-4 times/week, with rides up to 30 miles on the weekends. She says she's not really interested in speed, but it's not unusual for her to come back from a ride and tell me that she was pleased because passed so and so on the trail (particularly if it's some guy who thought he could pass her because she's female). I seldom ride with her, but I know she's getting faster and I think she's normally riding 12-14 MPH average speeds.

She has a birthday coming up, and I think she would enjoy moving up to a better, possibly faster bike. The problem is that she's resistant to drop bars, so many obvious options are out. (Similarly she's still resistant to lycra, to clipless pedals, etc. I don't push any of this - it's her ride.). Can any of you who know about hybrids (I know next to nothing) suggest a nicer ride? I'd be willing to spend up to ~$1200 or so.

I just looked at the Trek 7 series, and you can make those bikes as nice as you'd like them. They top out at $1900 or so.

I don't think they make Sohos any more, but they were sharp bikes. I rode along one one day. It had a belt drive and I think a Roeloff hub. It ran around $1200 I think. Maybe you could find one on the inter webs.

Something like this: http://bit.ly/19lHIye

It has a Nexus hub. My bad.

My SO loved a rather high end Giant. That level seems to have only been produced for a short while. But it did show that there are some very nice hybrids built. Stiff, light frames with decent wheel sets and good components. She put many, many miles on it before transitioning to a Specialized Dolche.

On the spandex, the easiest way to comfortable bicycling clothes for males, they make marvelous mountain bike shorts w/ built in shorts. I've seen in bike stores (female only so far) chamois undies...

For a long time I just wore gym shorts over bike shorts...

If she likes the trek you might consider getting her a higher 7 model.

There is a hybrid forum. You might check there.

http://www.bikeforums.net/forumdispl...ybrid-Bicycles

i own Cannondale undies with chamois, and wear them under gym shorts if I'm anxious about not having spare socks to use as package enhancers.

Just take her to her favourite LBS and take out your wallet and let her have her way with it. :)

The Specialized Vita is a fairly zippy bike, as is the Cannondale Quick. Both are more flat bar road bikes than hybrids.
Pin platform pedals such as the Wellgo B065 offer almost as much grip as clipless pedals and allow the rider to use a variety of shoes with a soft sole. I got a pair for Christmas and installed them on my touring bike, as I ride it in the city quite a bit and find that type of pedal a little better for traffic than the SPDs I was using.

Thanks, those look like very interesting options. I was sort of hoping that she'd go for a road bike, but the drop bars made that a non-starter. Maybe if she tries one of these, she'll like it.

I like the cannondale quick and bad boy.

I'm only familiar with the trek and giant line and both of them have some really nice hybrids. I wouldn't be at all concerned with drop bars at this point. After a year or two of a high quality hybrid many people naturally find that they are being held back by the upright position and want more speed. Some never do and that has to be OK too. You can get a pretty nice hybrid in the upper ranges of any of the big three and if you want to go further up you can add some custom wheels. At the very least you can replace the stock tires with something lighter.
As always, a perfect fit with an appropriate stem trumps anything else. LBS often fail to do serious fitting on lower end bikes but the right stem length to ensure there isn't too much pressure on hands is IMHO the most critical part of bike fit. G'luck.

Cannondale had a series of "flat bar road bikes," the Road Warriors. My wife had a nice Road Warrior 800 - 3x9 shimano, 700x28c tires, V-brakes, carbon fork, pretty flexy Al frame, sparkly black paint, and about 20# in a smaller size. She really liked it, but after about 3 years wanted to try drop bars. We sold it and found her a nice steel Terry.

OP? Bike Brands are sold in your favorite Bike Shop?


:deadhorse: once again.. pick the bike shop first then the Bike..


"faster" is usually narrower higher pressure tires .. less than 32's .. 100+PSI.

though to make any real gain so she can keep up, go look at Tandems.

the air resistance is what slows bike riders down ,

... and faster you go the more it pushes back.

I'm not a newby to bike shopping, I just don't know about hybrid models. All the majors and most everything else is sold at nearby shops - there are lots of LBS to choose from in the Twin Cities. I don't exactly have a favorite shop - I patronize at 4 or 5 different places in the area. Some will pay more attention to fitting than others, and that will affect our choices some.


uh huh. the 7.0 FX has 35 mm tires. I considered changing the tires/wheels or her current bike, but more recently I've been thinking that it would be nice to start fresh with something better from fore to aft.

.. as I say, Physics .. its about reducing the frontal area that you have to push through the air ..
velomobiles, are streamlined recumbent trikes.. they are fast.

Ms Terry has long been on target about bikes that fit women..

now She has a couple models where she got Waterford to be the supplier of nice
steel frame bikes .. and opting tor 2 X 559 26" wheels , rather than the 24/27"(700c)
of earlier years .. go test ride some of those..


I could have a fast bike , but for the motor not being that kind of driven, and 66 years old..

Having a Trek 7.5 FX myself, I highly recommend the model. I believe the frame geometry is the same as that of the 7.0 FX, but the 7.5 FX has components that are more tuned for faster rides on the paved roads - 700 x 28 tyres, double crank (as opposed to triple), carbon fork, etc. I've racked up about 500 miles since I bought it in mid-August. I ride on the crappy Seattle roads, and the tyres + the rear shock absorber built-into the frame work very, very well. I'm a happy cyclist.

My wife has a 7.4 FX (WSD) and is also very happy with it.

Actually, let me amend that to say that Specialized in the Twin Cities is dominated by a local bike and board chain (they have maybe 20 stores in MN and WI) which I've never really liked. That will bias me away. Though last year I was thinking about buying a Roubaix (I changed my mind) and so I would consider buying from them if they had the bike we really wanted. There are shops I like in the area for Trek, Giant, Cannondale, Fuji and most of the other common brands.

Based on Rhodabike's suggestion, my wife has agreed to test ride a Cannondale Quick at a nearby LBS this weekend. That's the first one we'll try, anyway.

3 things will influence the choice of your wife's bike. 1st is your wife. second is the brand that your LBS or the chosen shop stocks and the third is your wallet.

However what you should look at is the quality of the bike. Wife over rules everything but will the bike be an improvement over the old one? Lighter- better groupset and quality of the wheels are the items that will denote this. May not even be a brand that you even consider normally but these 3 factors will make it an improvement over the Old one.

I've got a 7.4FX myself and since switching the 28mm tires I have seen a nice increase in speed. I have actually ridden a metric century with the 7.4 and was able to ride with a group of roadies and keep up an 18.5 mph pace (I even did my share of pulling).

All that being said I have gone to a true road bike for longer rides. You might consider a bike such as the Domane which, while it has curved handlebars, has a more relaxed geometry and is very comfortable. You can even add brake levers to handlebars if your wife does not want to ride on the hoods or in the drop position.

I totally agree with those who recommend a higher-number Trek. I would also compare with its Giant counterpart - the 'Rapid' series. (Last time I looked, the Rapid series didn't seem compatible with aftermarket fenders (e.g. Planet Bike) like my Giant FCR is, so I might look at Trek next time myself).

My wife loves her Fuji Absolute 3LE from Performance Bike.

Fuji has some great bikes, and they are often overlooked. One thing to know about Fuji is that within a model lineup, the lower the number, the higher end the bike.
The top of the line Absolute would fit the OP's budget.
http://www.fujibikes.com/bike/details/absolute-11-d

My wife has muscular arthritis and wanted to ride so we got her a Specialized Vita.
Very comfortable for her and she has no problem doing 30 km rides on it.

Mark