Comfortable road bike

[Gren]

Need some help as I only know about bikes with nobbly tyres and suspension.

My wife is looking to start up road biking (how she can be bored with arseing about with me in the woods is anybodys guess) and to spur herself on has entered a 200 mile bike ride - Chase the Sun. Coast to coast, east to west in a day.

So plenty on training looms but first a bike. What's a good option? Looking to spend around £800 or so. Nothing aggressive or race biased and obviously needs to be comfortable over long distances.

[Magic919]

Giant Avail 1. You should get a 2014 within that budget.

[Barchettaman]

Her saddle choice is going to play an important role in comfort both in training and on the day.

SQ Lab and Terry have good reputations. Obviously it´s a personal thing.

[Gren]

I

Barchettaman said:

Her saddle choice is going to play an important role in comfort both in training and on the day.

SQ Lab and Terry have good reputations. Obviously it´s a personal thing.

She's currently using a Specialized Ruby on her MTB which is a road saddle. I'm assuming we'll switch it over. Then again it's a bit light on padding (carbon shell,ti rails) so may not be the best.

[agentnomad]

Contact points are going to be key here

Saddle

Handle bars width to suit here not just what comes on it along with shape and drop.

Shoes that are comfy

Also don't forget to get here some very high quality shorts Assos etc. as these make a huge difference and it become more so after a few hours in the saddle.

[Gren]

Magic919 said:

Giant Avail 1. You should get a 2014 within that budget.

Thanks , reviews looks good and have heard good things about the Defy

[Magic919]

My wife used her Defy for L2B and it was great. She uses the Selle Italia SLR on her bikes.

[Gren]

Thanks all. Will keep shorts and shoes in mind for later in the year once she has a few miles under her belt. And keep an eye on the saddle comfort.

She currently uses Shimano SPD shoes and those should be okay but will need shorts as she currently wears liner shorts under baggies. Loves the Sugoi pads but it may be time to trade up for some good shorts.

[Moaningroadie]

If you want to look at an alternative, my wife has one of these:
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPRIV22LDY/plane...

Took it all over the Alps last year (it has a 32t rear sprocket), she was comfortable all day long on it and it weighs nothing.