G_C

Pearl Izumi offers their womens shorts in XS and as mentioned there are always childrens shorts. I would venture a guess that her shorts are too large and that is the source of rubbing. As metioned some are more sensitive and I am sure this is not limited to one gender.

buzzman

most importantly let's get something straight here- she is not your fiancé. YOU are her fiancé. She is your fiancée.

Now that you've got that straight everything else should fall nicely into place.

Michel Gagnon

One of the problems is looking for traffic behind oneself. I find that a rearview mirror not only improves the ride safety wise, but also reduces the "fear factor" associated to the stress of not knowing what's behind you. Some riders are great at looking behind without swerving, but if she isn't 20 years old and especially if she hasn't ridden for a few years, the mirror will definitely help.


What's wrong with that? 18 mph is 30 km/h, and it is quite fast. Even I, a fairly seasoned cycle tourist, won't ride faster than that if/when I ride on a new bike. It is only once I get fully familiar with a bike and I know how it rides that I am able to ride faster. If that's her first road bike, she needs time to get adjusted to the position. And even when she knows her bike, she might still be the cautious type.


Could be a saddle adjustment. Try especially tilting it forward or backwards by a few degrees. But in spite of what everyone says, there is no rule that one MUST use bicycling shorts. If she prefers normal trousers or bermudas, great! And maybe even once she rides with normal trousers, she will know what to look for in cycling specific shorts. And build the distance slowly.

4zn_balla

I'm afraid of traffic too, but only at highway speeds so I only ride in the city and on trails. When i have to return to my hometown for the summer trails aren't available. There were 8 cycling related deaths in Wisconsin last year, am I being too paranoid?

mondaycurse

No HTFU responses?

Machka 

No it's not normal. Yes there is a solution.

She's got very bad posture on the bicycle. She is sitting on the bicycle like she is a sack of potatoes.

1) Make sure the bicycle is set up correctly for her.

2) Make sure the saddle is wide enough for her.

3) And then ... when she sits on the bicycle she needs to perch rather than flop in the saddle. This requires a good strong core. The first step to good posture on the bicycle is to suck in the abs. This brings the front of the lower area there up so that it doesn't touch the saddle. The second step is to tuck the pelvis under a bit. The soft bits shouldn't touch the saddle at all, or if they do it's only just barely. And her weight should be divided between her sitbones and her feet .... perching.

Get her working on her core and practicing perching. She'll feel much better.

Hydrated

I've been a guy for the first 46 years of my life, but I guess you can call me one of the girls if you want to. But my wife is going to be upset over my being a girl now... she has 22 years invested in me...

Damn... it's pretty bad when you get kicked out of Foo!

lukewall

Are you kidding me? Your fiance doesn't want to go on rides and you keep trying to encourage her? Man...enjoy the fact that you can go on solo rides or rides with friends without her. Trust me, there will be times when you want her to get out of your face and those solo rides could be one of the things that saves your marriage.

garysol1 

There is a solution.....well one that worked for us at least. My wife had many of the same issues .....well except for one....when ever we tried to ride together. Our solution has made our cycling a fun experience for the both of us. Her fit problem will still have to be addressed but I have to think that will be a minor issue to fix.

Gluteus

umm.....the seat.....the pedals...let me guess.....you ride in the front.

garysol1 

Actually we have changed the tandem quite a bit since that photo. I have gone to a different saddle and the wife has switched to a Butterfly saddle and Keo pedals but yes, I am in control which relieves her of her traffic and speed issues....

Banzai

Machka, unsurprisingly, pretty much hit it, I think.

To the OP...saddle height doesn't really have to do with an "aggressive" setup. Saddle to bar drop does, but proper saddle height is proper saddle height. You may not have noticed, but she may be rocking or stretching to get full extension. I personally find that painful, but some may find it, er, stimulating.

As far as the speed goes...she's not an experienced cyclist. More experience will give her the confidence in her bike handling abilities to go faster. In the meantime, if she's shaky and uncertain, I bet she's nervous over 18mph. By the way, 18 is a pretty decent clip for a steady cruise. As long as she's not blowing tires, go ahead and let her ride her brakes downhill and be happy that she's out riding. She'll hopefully get there eventually.

sibaudio

Just make the best out of it. Do your solo ride then when you're done and cooling off meet up with her and go on a slower more casual ride for a little while.. then you go home and it's a win win situation.

damocles1

Maybe she's just not a cyclist at heart...
My wife is on her third bike and I've offered to buy here whatever type of bike she'd like...it doesn't matter. She won't ride it anyway.
Women, for the most part, get grandiose ideas, devise grandiose plans and then come up with weak reasons why they can't carry them out.
And I know this next part is going to sound horribly selfish, but riding is ME time. It's time to hang out with my friends and be away from my wife and kids. I have no issue with riding around the neighborhood, pulling the trailer a couple of times a week, but the thought of going on a 40 mile road ride with my wife doesn't stir my sauce.

terrymorse 

Shebeest makes a range of chamois sizes and thicknesses, so one is likely to meet anyone's needs:

https://www.shebeest.com/chomais_tech.html

The "hourglass" is their thinnest and least visible.

aicabsolut

1) she doesn't like busy roads (kind of understandable for where we live currently)
2) she doesn't like going fast (she starts braking past 18 or so)

and
3) She states that riding the bike makes her angry/ frustrated. Apparently the movement of pedaling makes her "frisky" but since she is riding a bike and can't do anything this makes her angry. I wanted to know if :

a) this is normal.
b) there is a solution

1) She'll have to get used to it or move. I guess you're moving, so that's ok.

2) HTFU. If you said she doesn't like bombing down a mountain at 40+mph, then ok. Sure she is new to this, and so she may relax on the downhill speed thing quite a bit over time as she gets more comfortable on the bike. If she just wants to go out for a cruise but has the fitness to go a lot faster, then maybe road cycling with you isn't really her thing. Everyone can do easy rides whenever, but if she isn't pushing herself ever, then the cross training benefit for her (as an endurance athlete) isn't really there.

3) Uh, no, I've never heard of this except for one friend's experience with an equestrian saddle. Keeping that in mind, I think that a) she needs a cutout if she doesn't have one already, b) the nose of the saddle, and possibly the entire saddle, is too high, and/or c) the saddle isn't wide enough at her sit bones, so she is sitting with the majority of her weight on the wrong parts.

Also, she should try higher quality shorts. Some low-end shorts, particularly women's shorts, are like sitting on couch cushions. If even top of the line stuff is too thick/big in the chamois, then there are some other options. Look for good bibs. Maybe try to find some tiny men's sized bibs. While there is more padding in the front of men's shorts, the width of the chamois is smaller, and so there can be less bunching. With bibs in general, there may be more upward support from the straps, eliminating some chamois movement and bunching. Finally, look at tri shorts / tri suits which are minimally padded but do offer some protection and are pretty easy to find in tiny sizes without doing a custom order.