TKJava

My wife and I are 50+ and she is looking for a new bike. She has tried a few like the Giant Defy and a Fuji gran fondo. I had looked at and shown her a Motobecane Gigi. She would prefer a more upright geometry like an endurance bike. The Gigi has an appearance of a down sloping top tube and a taller head tube. I was wondering if anyone here has one and what they think of it.

Thanks in advance.

10 Wheels

Please let her choose her bike.

TKJava

I agree with you and I have every intention of doing so. She very much enjoys riding and after getting on a few bikes with carbon frames and higher end groups has an appreciation of what that is like to ride on.

What is not going to happen for her is an immediate immersion into all things bicycle like joining a forum on the web or constantly watching GCN on YouTube or being able to recite the Shimano groups in hierarchical order like me. So on her behalf I have take on the task of doing preliminary research to narrow down a field of possibilities and an attempt to add possibilities to the search (such as the Gigi) leading to an ultimate choice by her to find the right bike. I'm not a husband who says "Here's your bike honey now go be happy" Is that OK?

Wildwood 

The Gigi model at Bikes Direct is a 7 speed, old tech with down market components. For an existing cyclist looking for a new bike upgrade, I would recommend that you encourage her to get a bike with current technology. A 10speed (or 11speed) cassette will give her more gears to help find the best cadence for the terrain. Shimano Tiagra or 105 or Campy Veloce would be my minimum requirement for a drivetrain. Better wheels are a big asset on mid-priced bikes over the bargain basement models.


I don't have experience with the Motobecane and I'm sure it rides OK, but if she is already past the 'beginner cyclist' stage, an upgrade would likely keep her more interested.


What do you ride? Get her an equivalent quality bike. edit = let her choose an equivalent quality bike.

RonH

The Gigi looks like most other brands that have the sloping top tube. What other brands other than Motobecane have you looked at?

TKJava

Test drove a Giant Defy 2, Ridley Fenix, Fuji Grand Fondo. Also on the list to try yet is a Fuji "womens" bike don't recall exact model at the moment. The difficulty is finding the bike in the store in the right size frame. Of the ones tried there's an issue with reach. The handlebar is just a bit far away and all of the LBS's we've / she's been to have a common theme. Look at her on the bike and agree that the reach is to far and proceed to do nothing. At our suggestion of "can we see if a shorter and or shorter/angled stem would help" replied yes if your willing to buy the bike we can try that.

TKJava

Thanks regarding the Gigi, there's a model on the site now that has a carbon fiber frame and an Ultegra group (with the exception of breaks, BB and Crank) shifter's etc. are Ultegra. They price it above similar men's bikes for some reason. We looked at the Le Champion but they have just about sold out all of the models with the Ultegra group in just about all sizes at this point. As far as an equivalent ride I agree. I purchased a Kestrel in March at a tent sale, super deal because of scratch on the frame. I lowered the seat all the way, she tried it out and was hooked on the responsiveness and weight. I think when you go from a real entry level bike with a heavy frame and Sora/Tiagra components and try something that's appreciably higher in quality you really notice a difference. She did an 85 mile charity ride on her current bike a couple of years ago. I unfortunately was recovering from knee surgery. Since that summer of training riding has become something we do a great deal together.

canklecat

The Gigi models look like great values, from the aluminum to carbon frames. One review lists the carbon frame model at 18 lbs. Presumably the aluminum would be in the low 20s. Decent components. I can see why it's appealing.

The experience you described with your LBS sounds very discouraging. We have so many bike shops locally I can't imagine hearing "Buy first, then we'll try to shoehorn in a compromised fit later".

The main challenge to the Bikes Direct route is the setup. If you have the tools, space and experience, no problem. But if your LBS won't go the extra mile to be sure their bikes and the customer are a good fit, I'm wondering how helpful they'd be in setting up a bike bought online.

Wildwood 

85 mile charity ride + riding a lot together = sounds fully committed.
Go to a big bike shop with a female sales person, maybe you spend a bit more than online but over the life & miles of a good bike that fits well, the difference is peanuts. Fitting and service issues may be more important than she thinks and can be addressed by a local bike dealer.


Congrats on having a cycling spouse.
A new bike is fun.
Good luck to her.


Edit: If dealing with LBS seems awkward, try dealing with an online seller after the sale is made. Sure, you can hassle with returning it, but then back to square 1.

dachshund

Are there any Specialized bikes in the area? I bought a Ruby recently and its reach was good enough to feel good, and after riding it a few times I had them swap a shorter stem. The bike that I thought was better looking was an Orbea, but I felt too stretched out on it. Unfortunately you shouldn't buy something that feels wrong on the hope that they'll fix it later, even though it's quite frustrating to keep looking.

TKJava

So the Gigi arrived today and so far so good. Out of the box the assembly is fairly straight forward. You attache pedals, the handlebars, put the seat post in (seats on the post) and you need to put the front break on. The shifting out of the gate is just fine not needing adjustment. The only issue is the reach to the handle bars. We got the seat right in terms of height and fore/aft position. I had ordered a 90mm adjustable stem (arriving tomorrow) just in case and the reach is about a 1/2" too far. The other thing I'm reaching out to the forum about, is there a mechanism of bringing the break/shifter levers closer to the handle bar. In other words the smaller hand size cannot adequately reach from the drops across to the shifter/break lever. I've heard that these can be brought closer as if they're slightly closed, without being closed. I'm not sure how this is accomplished however.