Something for the wife?

[Mars]

I have a Whyte Portobello hybrid. It's a lovely machine and has sparked some interest in cycling in my wife.

She would prefer a women's frame, a limited-travel front sus and a triple front chainwheel. But she would like to retain 700c wheels with relatively narrow tyres. Her cycling will be limited to some of the bike paths around here - they're both paved and gravelly. There are some hard dirt paths too we'd explore when they are "hard" and not muddy.

She's not bothered about disk brakes either way. We'll probably go riding with our 6yo son on his single-speed 16" bike, and one of us (me) will tow our daughter in the trailer. We won't be going fast and limited to about 10 miles a week. Wifey is determined to go regularly though so I'm not looking for a cheap and crap machine, but equally nothing outrageously expensive either. As a guide, my Portobello was £700.


Any recommendations please?

[Roman]

I think German brands Cube, Ghost & Felt seem to offer the most options for this type of bike:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

[Mars]

Thanks for this. I've had a look around and found a few for her to look at. She doesn't want me to spend a lot of money on this, but if she's going to come out with me, I want her to have every opportunity to enjoy it. Or, put the other way around, I want nothing to put her off.

So, I've given her a range of bikes to look at - some with front sus and others without. Some with disks, some with hydraulic disks, and some with wheel-rim brakes. By the way, she's not bothered about disks... it's something I like though. No reason other than I like gadgets.

Prices range from £279 to £649. In case anyone's interested:

£425: Nice but it has “normal” brakes (not disks)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-qx70-ladies-2011/

£279: No front suspension and normal brakes (not disks)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/mongoose-crossway-200-ladi...

£500: No suspension but it does have disks (although not hydraulic ones)
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/felt-qx75-ladies-2011/

£649: Perfect in every way, but expensive
http://www.whytebikes.com/2011/bike_page.php?ModNo...

£429: Nearly perfect – has front sus and disks but they’re not hydraulic
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/sportste...

£579: As above, has front sus and non-hydraulic disks. It’s more expensive though, so not worth it above the one above?
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/dawes/discover...

£389: As above. Only in Medium though (I think she’ll need Small)
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/mongoose/cross...

£499: Hey, this looks good. It’s the perfect spec too. Good price.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/ar...


I'll see if I can convince her to go out for a Saturday to check some of them out.


Thanks.

[anonymous-user]

i wouldnt worry about brakes being discs, hydraulic or cable.

disc pads wear quicker than regular cantilever pads, the cheap end of the hydraulic brake market is horrifc, the stuff is heavy, ineffective and poor qualty of material.

the cable disc brakes work very well and would be my choice around that price range. that all said, unless the intention is to go out in the rain, in muddy conditions or seriously rough trails (that the bikes listed would struggle with anyway) you will find a well set up cantilever system does just as good a job.

[Mars]

Don't try to rationalise the brake-thing. There's nothing to rationalise... it's just a gadget. And it wouldn't necessarily affect the outcome if one bike fitted better than another anyway.