Help my girlfriend find a bike!

Lsriracha on 06/03/2013 - 23:03

Hey guys so my girlfriend (155cm) is looking to start cycling and she plans on trying some of the bicycle trails in Melbourne, like the Capital City Trail.

Anyway, she is still a beginner and only feels comfortable on low bikes where she can easily stand on her feet when needed. She is willing to spend in the region of $300 for a good bicycle and is happy to purchase second hand. To complicate things further, her brother who is slightly taller than her would also like to occasionally ride the bicycle.

Of course the priority is that she is able to comfortably ride it and all suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Find Me A Bargain

Comments

  • thefunkygibbon on 06/03/2013 - 23:25
    +1

    If your GF is a beginner I would take her to a local bike shop and get her to try some, get her to find out what size and what type she likes. I'm not necessarily suggesting you buy one from them but at least let her get the feel.

    You'll probably be looking at one of two bike types a mountain bike or a hybrid. A Hybrid is somewhere between a mountain bike and a road bike and are generally comfortable. Mountain bikes are general pretty comfortable but on roads/cycle paths take more effort to keep them going (mainly because of the wide tyre tread).

    Gumtree always has a lot of second hand bikes up for sale, also try Bike exchange (http://www.bikeexchange.com.au/).

    Cell Bikes are good for cheapish (but good) new bikes (www.cellbikes.com.au). (Don't by a fixie though for your GF even if it looks cheap, it's not what you want).

    • sriracha on 06/03/2013 - 23:57

      thanks thefunkygibbon!

      yes I probably will bring her to the shop and have a look around. I agree that probably a hybrid is the way to go, but I have heard that hybrids are generally pretty heavy?

      • thefunkygibbon on 07/03/2013 - 00:02
        +1

        For weight Hybrids are generally speaking lighter then mountain bikes but heavier than road bikes.

        Cheaper mountain bikes are generally made out of steel (i.e. Heavy) hybrids are normally make from aluminium and road bikes are normally aluminium at the cheap end and carbon at the mid to higher end.

  • thewheat on 07/03/2013 - 07:26
    +1

    My wife of similar height was looking for a bike recently too. Still yet to find one she really likes but the closest would be Reid X126 ($279) if I remember correctly http://www.reidcycles.com.au/bicycles/mountain-bikes/x126-ri…
    The height was just right for her to put her feet on the ground too. If you do find one a good bike for your GF do tell, may be appropriate for the wife too

    • sriracha on 07/03/2013 - 10:07

      will do buddy, thanks. I saw the Reid x126 too and thought it looked decent. May go check out the melb store soon

  • fungi79 on 07/03/2013 - 10:52

    I have a giant CRX4 hybrid bike for sale for 150 including helmet and lock if you're interested. It's the 09 model I think, not that it makes much of a difference, it's pretty new. You can come and have a look in Prahran.

  • ezz88 on 07/03/2013 - 12:28

    http://www.bikeexchange.com.au is your friend.

  • sriracha on 04/04/2013 - 08:31

    Hello! for those who are interested, we ended up getting the Reid X226 for around $325. We tried the hybrid one (not sure what the model is) but it was so uncomfortable to ride as the handlebars were too far from the seat. We have been riding on the capital city trail for the past week and it has been great!

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