visionz001

I'm new to this forum and was hoping that some people could help me decide what bike to buy for my gf. Me and some friends recently bought some cheap bikes on bikesdirect.com (I know that many people frown upon the vendor but we were seriously on a budget and decided to buy the bikes to get us started) Anyways, we've been doing some rides (~26mile rides twice a week) but my girlfriend has a pretty crappy 7 spd beach cruiser that cannot keep up with our pace.

I've been contemplating helping her buy a road bike so she can finally ride with us without us having to slow down every so often. Yet again we are on a very tight budget and my only choices are to buy used or choice another bike from bikesdirect.

Recently I saw an ad on craigslist of a Cannondale R300 triple for $300. I was considering this but found out that this model bike is ~10 years old. Also I'm not sure if buying a used bike online would be reliable.

Additionally there are plently of vintage road bikes going on craigslist for < $250. But for the same reason as the Cannondale, the reliability is questionable because of its age and being used. (most use tube shifters)

My last choice would be a Bikesdirect bike which have several model bikes that sell for $300 and under (although these all have tube shifters). The plus side of this would be knowing that the bike is brand new.

If possible can anybody give me some advice on which path to follow. She doesn't need an incredibly good bike since we have only begun getting into cycling. She just needs something decent that would be capable of keeping up with our road bikes. We are all around the same level of fitness and have an average speed of 13-15mph (I've been told thats pretty slow but I blame the weight of the bike and our fitness levels ) I'm not sure how fast the my gf averages but I'd assume its around 8-10mph.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

zonatandem

Tandem?!!!

dstrong 

Get her on a bike that is on par or better than yours. Unless you really know what you're doing buying a used bike and are comfortable making adjustments or spending some more $ to get it tuned, I'd go the BD route again, if it's workin' for you. If she thinks you bought her an inferior bike, it will just send a message that she's not worth it.

achoo

Yeah. Don't buy her a bike that's not as good as yours.

Know what the definition of a successful man is? One who makes more money than his wife/girlfriend can spend.

visionz001

I would be afraid to buy a tandem in fear that I will become the only person pedaling ahha.

I'm assuming with my knowledge in cycling (very minimal at this point) that I could really screw myself over buying a used bike. I wasn't sure if buying a more reliable model from the past would be better than buying a model that currently has a majority of negative feedback.

EDIT:
Additionally, I'm not quite sure how interested she is in cycling regularly which is why I'm just trying to find something that would do the job. I seem to be the only one that has been riding regularly with them tagging along every other ride or so.

KiuBWhy

+1 on the not cheaping out. The fact that she's actually trying to go on rides with you and is interested should motivate you enough to provide her with a bike that you would ride yourself.

Bob Dopolina 

Do what SOOOOOOOOOO many others have done in the past; Narrow it down to two or three choices and let the brain trust here duke it out. There will be a lot of crap to wade through but some useful info will come and you might find a winner.

beerob81

i got my girl the Trek Lexa...the components arent awesome but we can ride together and shes not getting left behind because shes on a cruiser or some dumb **** like that. She loves it too. Had our first ride together today. Took her awhile to get into the shifting but everything seems to fit her well.

visionz001

Well the way its been sounding it seems like BD is the way to go. hopefully its not "cheaping out" too much because I'm certain I can't afford the LBS prices. (College Student on College budget )

halfspeed

So it's a fictional concept?

beerob81

the girls that worked at the LBS tried to get her on a hybrid and I quickly asserted that she would have a hard time keeping up with us. Shes just as athletic as me and really pushed it today. she did 20miles and enjoyed it thoroughly

halfspeed

Or just skip the agida and just get the BF fave: CAAD 10. (Not that that's really always the right answer.)

visionz001

i checked the trek lexa which looks really nice but unfortunately I can't afford it FML. Then i searched the CAAD 10 and nearly died looking at the price. cruel joke!! Hopefully one day in the distant future i can get a bike like that though

10 Wheels

Let her buy her own bike.
Give her some cash to help.

halfspeed

The CAAD 8 is cheaper but still pretty friggen awesome. If that's still too much, used or BD are your only reasonable options.

valygrl

+1,000,000

MegaTom

She's gotta choose the bike or this endeavor will not be a successful one for you. Figure out how much $$$ you want to spend and work with a trusted bike shop to come up with a few candidates for her to look at and test ride. Be ready to accept that her final decision may be based on nothing more than looks or color. This is assuming that she's even marginally interested in riding the kind of bikes you want her to ride with you. If she doesn't seem too keen on riding a road bike, don't push the issue...

AllezDada

+1

shopgirl

I would go bikesdirect. You can get a great deal buying a used bike, or you can get suckered. Half the time people on Craigslist hardly even know what they're selling- they get the size wrong or sell bikes with a damaged frame or missing/damaged components, or they're just poorly adjusted so that stuff breaks soon after you buy it. If you're not confident in your ability to assess and fix what's wrong on your own, I wouldn't go used.

visionz001

ya she was going for the bikesdirect route since the beginning because the rest of the group had them but i figured if there was a nicer bike for the same price used it might have been worth it.

i guess BD it is. thanks for everyones opinion!

dspaff088

+1000000000000000000000000000000000

visionz001

you know while I'm at it. This is probably a stupid question but what makes a womans bike a womans bike... lol I mean would it be that bad to buy a normal bike for her instead of one specifically labeled as a womans road bike?

bikerjp

I can't speak to BD bikes directly, but I can say I think local is the way to go if you (or she) is new to this and not entirely sure what size and geometry to get. Mail/Internet order when you know what you want. When you don't - buy and test ride local.

visionz001

well I thought I knew what size but looking online there were different size recommendations. My gf is 5'1 and on some sites it said a good size road bike would be 43cm but then I saw another chart that said a good size road bike would be 47 or 48 cm. I read another site that said to measure the inseam then multiply by .67 to figure out what size. Does size differ with every bike?

Edit: also because of this confusion I was planning on just going to a LBS or REI to just get a general fit if I couldn't figure it out

valygrl

The most important measurement is Effective Top Tube (ETT) which is the distance between the top/center of the head tube and where the center of the seat tube would be if the top tube was horizontal, measured parallel to the ground. Bike sizes are measured differently between brands, so it's really hard to say what "size" she is - but look at the geometry chart on the web site or catalog for the bike. At 5'2" and pretty normal female proportions, I ride a bikes with ETT of 510 (51cm) so you should probably be looking for about 50cm for her. Those bikes could be called anything from size 42 to 48.

The big difference between women's and 'regular' bikes (besides paint) is that the ETT on women's bikes is usually a bit shorter relative to the head tube height which makes them work a bit better for women with longer legs as a proportion of their height than men have. Some women's bikes also come with narrower handlebars and shorter cranks.

Getting the right size bike & confy saddle is the most important part of enjoying your bike. I rode bikes that were too big for a long time, not realizing it. Be patient with saddle selection, she'll probably have to try several before finding what's comfortable. Terry has a 30 day refund policy, so she can ride & try saddles. REI and Performance have good return policies too.

For a bike fit, go to a LBS, a good one, not performance or REI. you may have to pay, but it's worth it.