[Closed] New bike for wife, which one?

Hi Jake. Its too early for you isnt it?....... Too early to suggest that you should leave your grown adult wife to buy the bike that SHE wants. Or at least actually ASK her what she wants before you buy ut and pick it up.

Please tell me you are not the type of person who needs 300 pages of know-it-all blokes to witter on about the relative merits of Carerras Vs Marins?

Is the bike meant to be a secret purchase or a way for "big silver back" to show little wifey how much he know about mechanical things?

I might be going out on a limb here but what does your wife think?

Just sayin....

The best bike you can afford, says token wife/female!

Oh and what bike do you currently ride?
Are you anticipating you and your wife riding together?
Do you secretly hate her?

I picked up an XS 650b Genesis Core 30 HT on ebay for £150 a bit back which I needed to do a fair bit of tidying up on, but the Suntour Raidon forks are so easily self-servicable I'm not changing them yet. It's great as a winter/chuck it in the shed after riding bike that I don't have to worry much about. I'm not a massive fan of the 2 x 10 set up as I don't ever seem to be in the right gear, but that's coming from 1x11 which I love the simplicity of.

I'd look at Genesis again, but consider spending more to get something a bit lighter and higher spec if it was my only bike.

PS. The full suss is a Santa Cruz 5010 CC which I love, but is overkill for current COVID riding situations. The Genesis is actually pretty near perfect.

PPS. Hels is right, listen to her!!

I think she would definitely like a Santa Cruz Juliana - and I haven't even met her.

Decathlon might be worth a look - rockrider st 540.

How many wives have you got?

I'd probably choose the one that is most into biking.

Actual advice: Go into a shop with your wife and she can test ride a few, talk to the assistant, and make a purchase.

^^ I read it like this too - missing the 'f' of 'for'

What a choice....

Hello

I'll try and explain the thought process of my wifr.

We went to Halfords. She dismissed the voodoo soukri as she didn't like the badge on the front, it reminded her of Raleigh, and preferred the blue / purple Carrera.

I took her to Haldon forest where they had a new and used Marin bobcat. The used was better spec but scratched and the new was pink. Both got dismissed.

I've spent weeks trying to find something suitable.

Which is excellent / new condition. I just want to get her something which is above base spec so can actually be enjoyed.

Thanks

molgrips.

We've been to Halfords, Partridge Cycles, Haldon Forest and go outdoors.

The issue was sizing mainly with lack of small frames.

Unfortunately visiting shops is off the cards at the minute

jler1985

Thanks

The best bike you can afford, says token wife/female!

Oh and what bike do you currently ride? Whyte 905
Are you anticipating you and your wife riding together? Yes
Do you secretly hate her? No. In the context of this thread she would buy a Carrera Vengeance, I'm trying to get her something "better"

Thanks

 

Hi jak0,

Aha, I see your conundrum! As for the "do you secretly hate her" jibe, that was just a morning joke not to be taken as anything more or indeed a dig at your intentions to mansplain biking to her (I don't think you're trying to do that btw).

You definitely need to talk her out of a Carrera as she won't enjoy riding at all but you are in a tricky position as it sounds like she doesn't really know quite what she'd like because she doesn't now enough about bikes yet.

If she's happily riding the red at Haldon on a hire bike then she has potential to be a decent rider (I'm guessing).

I asked what bike you are on as I have seen (up at Haldon no less) many a man riding a lovely full suss with a lass trailing behind on a rubbish hardtail. She is struggling and hating it, he doesn't understand why she doesn't love bikes like he does! I don't think that's going to be an issue here.

Finally, how big is she? Could you get away with a medium frame in something? I'm 5'2" with short arms and have to ride a small (or XS depending on the brand) but if she's a bit bigger then you may be able to find a Medium in something that's a better spec. My feet don't reach the ground when I'm on either the XS HT or Small FS so if that's what she's looking for you may have your work cut out convincing her to go a bit bigger.

Good luck with this, it's not a great time to be buying new as she can't test out the bike and you can't even borrow one from local riders to try (you know, like friendly sorts such as me!).

I'd go for the marin as I like them.

Finally, how big is she? Could you get away with a medium frame in something?

She's 5.2" definitely needs a small, i'm hoping a she can get away with a small "mens" frame as there is a lot more choice.

Thanks

 

Alpkit/Sonder have deals on ex display and demo bikes at the moment with pretty large chunks off. Obviously sizing is still a gamble, but first bike is just gateway drug to bigger more expensive things, right?

Edit: looks like you've missed out on the cheaper stuff.

God, I just read that as ‘new bike or new wife, which one?’ Bit Freudian that

I read “new bike for wife” as jakO proposing a swap deal - I just wasn’t sure if they were offering a wife or if they wanted one.

I bought Mrs Velocipede a Canyon 29er in their sale last year - it was under £600 and the spec is absolutely fantastic (XT transmission inc!) - I would def buy again!

She was very happy with it btw and uses it 3/4 times/wk