Garfield Cat

Let your girlfriend have access to this forum so that she may "own up" to her decision making, and not just yours.

You may have her best interest at heart but its still a personal decision. She may surprise you.

beerob81

just to be clear, I did NOT buy her bike...although she definitely wanted me to. I just dropped 2500 cash on mine and just can't see spending more than 200 on a bike for her if shes not serious...I made sure she got it and paid for it that way she would ride it. she put 250 cash on it and was able to get Trek credit in the store (like most department stores) so now she has a year free service on it and 10% off anything in the store for life (or until it closes).

If you drop that kind of money on something and she doesn't use it, it will undoubtedly turn into an argument.

I went to dicks the other day and was behind a couple that bought 2 bikes...i almost puked when i heard the total($200) because I quickly realized that me and my girlfriend just dumped an awesome amount of vacation money on our bikes. 3200 in total could have gotten us a good little get away. But the time we spend together riding will be way better, plus it's better than relationship belly.

It's a good investment if you guys talk about it and make sure thats what she really wants. It will last and it's healthy and fun. Sometimes you got to spend money to save money in the long run.

visionz001

ya we have been talking about it. I probably should have clarified that I wasn't surprising her. Also she has been wanting a different bike. The reasons for buying a cheap bike are just because both of us are on a cheap budget and I'm not sure if she would take cycling up long enough to justify buying an expensive bike. So these bikes are kind of considered our trial bikes.

beerob81

ok so what are you riding? I read you posted 13-15 average which is slow...ever consider selling your bike and both of you buying bikes at the same level? like I said...this couple bought 2 bikes for 200 bucks total...I've learned quickly this is not a cheap sport if you want to be competitive.

shopgirl

What valygrl said about ETT length is right. I think it's more important that going by size alone. At 5'1, I'd guess your girlfriend can ride anything from a 44-48, but look for a top tube length of about 50cm. "Women's specific geometry" varies with the manufacturer. Sometimes manufacturers redesign the bikes with specific frame geometry for women's proportions, sometimes all they do is shrink it and pink it. The latter approach isn't necessarily bad- women's specific design doesn't work for every woman, and it didn't dissuade me from buying a men's bike for my new road bike (though I did have to change the handlebars and put on a shorter stem- both were easy fixes). Get the size close, and know that you can make smaller changes once you get the bike also- if the reach needs to be a little shorter, for example, it's easy to change a stem or seatpost.
My first road bike was a Specialized Dolce, and I didn't like it at all. It felt like a hybrid.

visionz001

i have the dawes lightning 1000 from bikes direct. Like i said I blame the weight of the bike and my level of fitness for the lack of speed. We aren't competitive which is why we are using these as trial bikes. Now that I have a feel for it, I do want to buy a better bike in the future.

also to the other posters thanks for informing me on how to read the geometry charts better