# Wife wants a road bike....



## LJ0913 (Nov 29, 2005)

Ok so we live in the East Bay. (Alamo to be exact) I am looking for a good bike shop that will fit my wife with the best bike for her. My first shop is Danville Bikes since it's down the street and haven't been in yet. Anyone have any favorite, or suggestions in a 20 mile radius of bike shops? We just moved here in October so I don't know the area too well yet. 

Thanks!


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## Boardmill (Oct 15, 2005)

I would recommend at least visiting Left Coast Cyclery in Berkeley. It is right under the Clairmont Hotel on Domingo Ave. The staff is very knowledgable, they specialize in road bikes, and most employees are female.

It really depends on what type of consumer your wife is, but sometimes being fit by another women can really reduce the stress factor and create a better experience.

You could hit another 10 shops that are within a few minutes of Left Coast if you were not satisfied or just wanted to do your homework before closing the deal. 

'Rick and Ann's' is a good restaurant that is right next store to Left Coast if you want a bite to eat before, during, or after the process.


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## itsjon (Nov 4, 2005)

I highly recommend Eden Bikes in Castro Valley. They handle Giant, Ridley, Orbea, and Pinarello. I drive all the way from Modesto to do business with Chris. Check them out at www.edenbicycles.com.


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## rollinrob (Dec 8, 2002)

*eden*

another vote for Edan. best shop in the Bay area! I have been to alot and the no Bs service it tops with me. I usaully talk to a asian guy how seems to be real knowlegeable about bike and what you want to do with them.


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## LJ0913 (Nov 29, 2005)

*Great!*

Thanks for the replies. We're going to check out both shops. She likes the idea of another women fitting her due to questions guys can't answer, which I understand. Both of these shops seem to be just what we were looking for as for the bikes they carry.

Thanks much - hopefully we'll be rolling along this Sunday with her new bike....


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## Rushfan (Apr 20, 2003)

LJ0913 said:


> Thanks for the replies. We're going to check out both shops. She likes the idea of another women fitting her due to questions guys can't answer, which I understand. Both of these shops seem to be just what we were looking for as for the bikes they carry.
> 
> Thanks much - hopefully we'll be rolling along this Sunday with her new bike....


This is pretty wise. My local shop has been great, but my wife didn't want to be fitted by them-the fitter is too attractive! lol


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## Plim (Mar 31, 2006)

LJ0913 said:


> Ok so we live in the East Bay. (Alamo to be exact) I am looking for a good bike shop that will fit my wife with the best bike for her. My first shop is Danville Bikes since it's down the street and haven't been in yet. Anyone have any favorite, or suggestions in a 20 mile radius of bike shops? We just moved here in October so I don't know the area too well yet.
> 
> Thanks!


Traitorous dog! Do you have a road bike? Back to the dirt with you! 

I got my road bike at Left Coast. I like 'em fine. Usually if I need minor service at the end of a ride I can stop in and they'll do it while I wait. Very nice of them.


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## LJ0913 (Nov 29, 2005)

Plim said:


> Traitorous dog! Do you have a road bike? Back to the dirt with you!
> 
> I got my road bike at Left Coast. I like 'em fine. Usually if I need minor service at the end of a ride I can stop in and they'll do it while I wait. Very nice of them.


Ha-Busted!  How you doing Plim? 

Thanks for the post, we're going to check them out on Sunday. My fear is she will hate riding and want to stop so I am looking not to spend too much, we'll see.

As for me I am on the fence if I want to maintain four bikes so I am currently just tossing slicks on the hardtail. Last Thanksgiving my bro-in-law and I did a 86 mile ride in so-cal. I was surprisingly comfortable on my hardtail and hung with him the entire ride. (Or if he slowed up, I'd like to think I was with him the entire ride  

(O.T.-I plan on attending May by the Bay for Annadel, and Boggs hope to see you up there!)

Cheers!
-Larry


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## Plim (Mar 31, 2006)

LJ0913 said:


> Ha-Busted!  How you doing Plim?
> 
> Thanks for the post, we're going to check them out on Sunday. My fear is she will hate riding and want to stop so I am looking not to spend too much, we'll see.
> 
> ...


You should get a road bike. It takes almost no work to maintain one, and if you've got a dedicated road bike you'll be much more likely to ride more than if you have to change your tires (assuming you normally keep knobbies on the HT). 

I road ride a lot because I can just grab it, walk out the door and start riding - easy to get some miles in during relatively small blocks of time, like my lunch hour. 

It's hard to get wives/GFs into cycling. Good luck with it!


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## sungchang (Sep 20, 2005)

Plim said:


> It's hard to get wives/GFs into cycling. Good luck with it!


Oh, how so true 

Preface: We got a Trek hardtail for my wife 3 years ago. 1 week after we got the bike, we find out she's pregnant with our second child. Since then, the bike has been sitting in the garage.

My wife: I want to start riding again.
Me: That's great honey. When do you want to go?
Wife: My bike weighs too much (it's a low end Trek hardtail, so I agree here). I want something lighter.
Me: Should I look for something?
Wife: Yes, sounds good.
Me: (after searching....) I found the right bike for you. It's a brand new steel road bike. It's a 05 left over, so the price is really good. Do you want to go check it out?
Wife: How much is it?
Me: It's normally over $1000, but they have it a clearance price of $800.
Wife: It's too expensive and I don't know how much I can ride.
Me: But honey, considering all it's got, it's one of the better deals out there.
Wife: Keep looking....
Me: So I keep looking at ebay and craiglist


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## itsjon (Nov 4, 2005)

Plim said:


> It's hard to get wives/GFs into cycling. Good luck with it!


I think I'm one of the luckiest guys in the world! My wife not only is into me cycling, but she told me that I needed a new CF bike to replace my C'dale. I'm getting a Pinarello Paris Carbon soon.


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## NorCalRider (Apr 1, 2006)

LJ0913,
Re shops, all good suggestions so far, but I'll add a shout out for Pegasus in Danville. Owners Chris and Brian are both great guys, easy to work with and carry a pretty broad selection of bikes from entry level to high end. (They also have a large selection of cycling clothes for women.) I've bought two bikes there including one for my wife. California Pedaler (two blocks from Pegasus) just changed hands and is worth a look. Met the new owner a few weeks ago and he seems like a good guy.


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## LJ0913 (Nov 29, 2005)

NorCalRider said:


> LJ0913,
> Re shops, all good suggestions so far, but I'll add a shout out for Pegasus in Danville. Owners Chris and Brian are both great guys, easy to work with and carry a pretty broad selection of bikes from entry level to high end. (They also have a large selection of cycling clothes for women.) I've bought two bikes there including one for my wife. California Pedaler (two blocks from Pegasus) just changed hands and is worth a look. Met the new owner a few weeks ago and he seems like a good guy.


Thanks for the post. I do like Pegasus a lot, and they have done great work on my MTB. I guess I just pictured them being too high-end of a store for my wife's road bike I didn't bother looking at their selection of road bikes. I'll have to stop in. 

Last Thursday night I popped into California Pedaler before dinner at "Amber" (If you haven't eaten there, I highly suggest it. Great food!) The big "Sale" banner brought me in, and although the staff was very nice their lowest priced bike was $1,299.00. Too much on something that my wife "might" like. I am looking at a price range $900.00 or lower. If the weather works-out tomorrow I am off on a ride and I'll pop in at Pegasus on the way back.

-Larry


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## LJ0913 (Nov 29, 2005)

Plim said:


> You should get a road bike. It takes almost no work to maintain one, and if you've got a dedicated road bike you'll be much more likely to ride more than if you have to change your tires (assuming you normally keep knobbies on the HT).
> 
> I road ride a lot because I can just grab it, walk out the door and start riding - easy to get some miles in during relatively small blocks of time, like my lunch hour.
> 
> It's hard to get wives/GFs into cycling. Good luck with it!


I know I am a lazy slacker! I have an extra set of rims that I keep slicks on, I just swap out the rims. Swapping tires would drive me NUTS! When we lived in the city she had a Gary Fisher hybrid, and she liked it just not the traffic; I don't blame her. I am hoping she'll get into it here so I can have a riding partner at times.

Hope your 70-miler went smoothly...


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## johngfoster (Jan 14, 2005)

Plim said:


> It's hard to get wives/GFs into cycling. Good luck with it!


Tell me about it! Every time I would mention anything remotely related to cycling I would get an attitude from the GF. Then she blew my socks off when she said she wanted to "invest in our relationship" and get a road bike with her tax return money. Woohoo!  

It has gotten much better and now she is going on rides by herself while I'm at work even. Now I'm able to talk a bit more freely about cycling related stuff. This has been such a break-through.

Key: don't push! If they sense even for a hint of a second that you are trying to manipulate or push them into something they don't want to do, then the walls go up instantly. It has to be her decision. She needs to go look at bikes with you when she is ready to do this, try a bunch of them out and choose the one she likes. If she's anything like my woman, DON'T PUSH!

Good luck.


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