Clifton CC

My wife wants to get a road bike through cycle to work scheme. We have to buy through Halfords but can get any make. Problem is if Halfords don't stock it we have to go find a bike shop that has one to try out. So far she's tried female spec and male spec bikes and found little between them. She likes Treks Madone 1.5. She's never owned a road bike before and I'm a MTB' er so can't offer much help. Her plan is to get fit and build up to do the York 100 in the summer.

Thanks

Ally

Boardman range are excellent vfm and are available through Halfords.....

cycle republic - near fenwicks - are owned by halfords and will give the bike to halfords so you can buy it off them - they have a much more specialised range - and there quite nice ppl as well

Our 'partnering' cycle shop I believe will also get you any make bike you like. They also offer lifelong free servicing on any bike over £1K. And they were the first in York to do Cycle to Work.
Thought I'd mention.
Have a word with Pierce.
As for frame fitting, make sure the bike is woman specific. These allow for generally different vital dimensional proportions. Not all cycle makes do these, so be aware.

Thanks for your replies. The bike has to be bought through Halfords/Cycle Republic. Spent all weekend looking around. Its between these I think:

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/1_series/15/

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_comp.html

As for female fit, doesn't seam to matter. Boardman don't do female and she prefers the male version of most of the bikes shes tried.

Don't worry about women's fit, some 'people' require specific sizes or frames because they are taller / smaller / wider (!) / other needs, but most men and women can fit standard frame sizes with a bit of thought or setup help.

I'm sure you'll be fine. Ask in Halfords for some help with your setup if you're not sure. Have a healthy amount of seatpin showing & take care in choosing handlebar stem length. I opted for the 4Girls Handlebars, but for me it seems a gimmick and no difference to the std bars on all my other bikes! Handlebar width is more a personal choice to think about.

There's been a couple of previous threads on this same topic with plenty more responses, so if you were interested in more opinions, it may be worth a look back on the forum.

Hope your wife enjoys riding her new bike! Maybe see her out on the road........

Claire [/i]

I agree with Claire - unless you are quite small I think a mens bike should be fine. There will still be minor things that need tweaking though - I'm nearly 6ft tall but I have a shorter reach than most men of similar height so I would go for a slightly smaller frame or shorter stem, I also find that the standard handlebars fitted to my bikes my size are uncomfortably wide, but all these little details can be ironed out when you order the bike. Main thing is that it's comfortable and the right size.

Also though...if your wide decides she wants to spend a lot of time out on the road...she might want to think about a nice, comfy womens saddle!

allyst170 wrote:Thanks for your replies. The bike has to be bought through Halfords/Cycle Republic. Spent all weekend looking around. Its between these I think:

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/1_series/15/

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_comp.html

As for female fit, doesn't seam to matter. Boardman don't do female and she prefers the male version of most of the bikes shes tried.

The Trek only has Sora shifters, brakes and front mech - bottom of the Shimano range. Purely on spec the Boardman is a better bike but personal choice is at least as important!

The main reason I can see for most women getting a woman's fit are the brakes and shifters (although the size of my hands maybe I should go there). I agree for women over 5' 7'' no need to worry about anything else.

Saying that I would always buy a smaller frame and play with it. I love the Trek and when the sora wears out you just replace it. My Trek has done over 30,000 miles and needs very little loving.

Brian

I've been riding Sora on my regular bike for 2 1/2 years; I only had to replace the rear mech (with Tiagra) because of a truly stupid mistake cleaning it, which bent the cage. Seems to me it does a good job (and is cheap to replace!).

Something which may appeal is that Sora uses a different shift system to other Shimano STi; on mine (and this still looks true on the Trek website linked above) the shift to a smaller cog uses a thumb-button on the inside of the brake hood; you push the brake lever inwards to shift back. It's definitely a personal preference, but I think this makes shifting from the hoods easier than the paddle used by the fancier Shimano gear, and I guess this would make even more difference if you have small hands.

..and the Trekkies I know are all very keen on their bikes.
tom

The other thing about the Trek is that, on my Trek Pilot anyway, it can be fitted with full mudguards which you will probably need at some point.

Looking at the 1.5 picture it looks like it has got the eyelets for them.

How about David Hinde bikes. I am thinking of calling in as I do some work over that side of the pennies. They do a couple of nice looking road bikes at about £700 with what looks a good spec and is light. One L’Etap Sport bike is £599.95 and complete bike weighs 18lbs (8.18kg). Anyone had any experience of them?

http://davehinde.veriovps.co.uk/

Dave Hinde has a rather dodgy reputation - I've therefore never dealt with them. Many stories of money taken for goods that never appeared - how much this is apocryphal and how much real I can't say.

Of the online retailers I find Ribble OK but they do have a slightly dodgy rep. Wiggle are a bit more expensive but - I think it's fair to say - are slightly better regarded.

It's the usual story - one bad experience and it's enough to put you off!

Ribble historically have a poor reputation going back to the early 90s - poor quality frames and non existant service. But with online ordering now they are superb - massive range, amazing value and delivery in a couple of days.
I ordered a random selection of bits last Wednesday evening. First item on the list was a 105 cassette - I checked the price on Wiggle also and it was £15 cheaper and as the order was over £50 came post free and arrived complete on the Friday - its almost a charity!
Bought a training frame off them in November - less than £130 with a full carbon fork and h/set and again its superb and arrived in a couple of days. Need I go on.
Only slight downside is watch the frame geometry - the frames seem to have long top tubes which may require a shorter handlebar stem for a lady?
However many Clifton riders own the training frames and I've not heard any complaints.
The complete bike deals they do offer exceptional value.

Thanks very much for your advice and views. If I end up getting a bike form there I will leave some feedback on my experience and the bike.