Good sporty hybrid for women - Page 4 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-05-2005, 07:42 PM

"Mark Roberts" <markalroberts@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3ca15ed0.0501051013.549556c6@posting.google.c om...
> Hello,
>
> I'm trying to help my girlfriend find a bike so we can ride togther. I
> ride a fair bit and have three bikes: an alu commuter hybrid, steel
> tourer and titanium/carbon road bike.

So which of these are you planning on riding with her? You might want to
match types. My husband always wanted me to go riding with him. He has a
carbon fiber road bike, I have a steel hybrid with baskets for groceries.
Not gonna happen. After a few years of tandeming, my carbon fiber road bike
is on order.
>
> I'm thinking a hybrid will be the best option for her, as we're
> probably not going to cycle hundreds of miles with panniers or go for
> maximum speed. But having said that, we will be cycling for 3-4hours
> at a time and pretty hard if I get my way

Is she a jock? If so you might get that competitve thrill you are looking
for. I assume she first gets to slaughter you at whatever is her sport. If
not, cycling 3-4 hours pretty hard doesn't really sound like the best date.
Especially if you want a second one. The tandem suggestion is good if a)
this is a long term girlfriend (they are expensive machines) and b) she
trusts your driving. I personally love tandeming. My husbands a good
steerer, he has lots more road biking experience than I do (but errand
runnin riding, I'm the queen...) and he can ride as hard as he wants and I'm
still there.
>
> I'm confused by the "Women's" frames - The major difference seems to
> be the "step-through" design... for dresses? I'd really appreciate
> hearing from anyone that can comment on the differences, and maybe
> recommend a bike... I'm looking at the Dawes Sonoran - is this any
> good?

I'm going with the trek bikes. The women's geometry frames are good for
small to average size women with longer legs and shorter torsos. If she has
a long torso (like most men) men's bikes work fine. If she's tall, she might
have trouble finding a women's bike big enough. They really feel great when
riding, compared to my old hybrid, which has the "dress" bar, but not the
shorter top bar distance. (The lower bar was so you could stand over a
taller bike...
dresses only work well on true commuter bikes, with chain guards and full
fenders. That said, I have been known to ride with my tennis dresses on...)
>
> Also been looking at Trek, Ridgeback and Scott: They all don't have
> mudguards, guess I could add some later maybe?

Where is the mud? If you are going mountain biking then she needs a
mountain bike. If you mean fenders then yeah, with the right brakes you can
add them later.
>
> Oh, well, sorry for this rather vague posting. Maybe someone will have
> some ideas

>
> bye for now,
> Mark.

01-05-2005, 07:42 PM

"Mark Roberts" <markalroberts@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3ca15ed0.0501051013.549556c6@posting.google.c om...
> Hello,
>
> I'm trying to help my girlfriend find a bike so we can ride togther. I
> ride a fair bit and have three bikes: an alu commuter hybrid, steel
> tourer and titanium/carbon road bike.

So which of these are you planning on riding with her? You might want to
match types. My husband always wanted me to go riding with him. He has a
carbon fiber road bike, I have a steel hybrid with baskets for groceries.
Not gonna happen. After a few years of tandeming, my carbon fiber road bike
is on order.
>
> I'm thinking a hybrid will be the best option for her, as we're
> probably not going to cycle hundreds of miles with panniers or go for
> maximum speed. But having said that, we will be cycling for 3-4hours
> at a time and pretty hard if I get my way

Is she a jock? If so you might get that competitve thrill you are looking
for. I assume she first gets to slaughter you at whatever is her sport. If
not, cycling 3-4 hours pretty hard doesn't really sound like the best date.
Especially if you want a second one. The tandem suggestion is good if a)
this is a long term girlfriend (they are expensive machines) and b) she
trusts your driving. I personally love tandeming. My husbands a good
steerer, he has lots more road biking experience than I do (but errand
runnin riding, I'm the queen...) and he can ride as hard as he wants and I'm
still there.
>
> I'm confused by the "Women's" frames - The major difference seems to
> be the "step-through" design... for dresses? I'd really appreciate
> hearing from anyone that can comment on the differences, and maybe
> recommend a bike... I'm looking at the Dawes Sonoran - is this any
> good?

I'm going with the trek bikes. The women's geometry frames are good for
small to average size women with longer legs and shorter torsos. If she has
a long torso (like most men) men's bikes work fine. If she's tall, she might
have trouble finding a women's bike big enough. They really feel great when
riding, compared to my old hybrid, which has the "dress" bar, but not the
shorter top bar distance. (The lower bar was so you could stand over a
taller bike...
dresses only work well on true commuter bikes, with chain guards and full
fenders. That said, I have been known to ride with my tennis dresses on...)
>
> Also been looking at Trek, Ridgeback and Scott: They all don't have
> mudguards, guess I could add some later maybe?

Where is the mud? If you are going mountain biking then she needs a
mountain bike. If you mean fenders then yeah, with the right brakes you can
add them later.
>
> Oh, well, sorry for this rather vague posting. Maybe someone will have
> some ideas

>
> bye for now,
> Mark.

01-05-2005, 07:42 PM

"Mark Roberts" <markalroberts@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3ca15ed0.0501051013.549556c6@posting.google.c om...
> Hello,
>
> I'm trying to help my girlfriend find a bike so we can ride togther. I
> ride a fair bit and have three bikes: an alu commuter hybrid, steel
> tourer and titanium/carbon road bike.

So which of these are you planning on riding with her? You might want to
match types. My husband always wanted me to go riding with him. He has a
carbon fiber road bike, I have a steel hybrid with baskets for groceries.
Not gonna happen. After a few years of tandeming, my carbon fiber road bike
is on order.
>
> I'm thinking a hybrid will be the best option for her, as we're
> probably not going to cycle hundreds of miles with panniers or go for
> maximum speed. But having said that, we will be cycling for 3-4hours
> at a time and pretty hard if I get my way

Is she a jock? If so you might get that competitve thrill you are looking
for. I assume she first gets to slaughter you at whatever is her sport. If
not, cycling 3-4 hours pretty hard doesn't really sound like the best date.
Especially if you want a second one. The tandem suggestion is good if a)
this is a long term girlfriend (they are expensive machines) and b) she
trusts your driving. I personally love tandeming. My husbands a good
steerer, he has lots more road biking experience than I do (but errand
runnin riding, I'm the queen...) and he can ride as hard as he wants and I'm
still there.
>
> I'm confused by the "Women's" frames - The major difference seems to
> be the "step-through" design... for dresses? I'd really appreciate
> hearing from anyone that can comment on the differences, and maybe
> recommend a bike... I'm looking at the Dawes Sonoran - is this any
> good?

I'm going with the trek bikes. The women's geometry frames are good for
small to average size women with longer legs and shorter torsos. If she has
a long torso (like most men) men's bikes work fine. If she's tall, she might
have trouble finding a women's bike big enough. They really feel great when
riding, compared to my old hybrid, which has the "dress" bar, but not the
shorter top bar distance. (The lower bar was so you could stand over a
taller bike...
dresses only work well on true commuter bikes, with chain guards and full
fenders. That said, I have been known to ride with my tennis dresses on...)
>
> Also been looking at Trek, Ridgeback and Scott: They all don't have
> mudguards, guess I could add some later maybe?

Where is the mud? If you are going mountain biking then she needs a
mountain bike. If you mean fenders then yeah, with the right brakes you can
add them later.
>
> Oh, well, sorry for this rather vague posting. Maybe someone will have
> some ideas

>
> bye for now,
> Mark.