# ~3K Road Bike - Any ideas



## flafonta (Sep 15, 2008)

Hi,

My 40 y.o. wife and her friend currently ride matching Spec. Dolces. with flowers  . They are getting more serious about their riding and they feel it is time to upgrade. They do 50 mile weekend rides, rallys, MS150 rides, etc. And they also would like to hang with the men's groups 

Any pointers for them?

My initial response to them was:

1- Try as many as you can and find one that fits well and that you like the riding
2- Buy the one you fall in love with
3- At this price range, Carbon is your friend
4- Don't care too much about magazine reviews, or Shimano 105 vs Ultegra vs Campi

So they are considering the main offerings from Trek, Spec, Cannondale, Orbea (my favorites), Felt, Willier (recommended in a magazine  ), Giant, Scott

Any input?

Thanks!


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Of those you listed I like the Trek and the Orbea. They are monocoques frames tho which means there's road noise coming from the frame. Because of this, I prefer lugged carbon. I have a Look. 

Also depending on her size, it's possible she could be happy on a man's frame. I'm 5'4 and ride men's bikes.


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Goals*



flafonta said:


> ...they also would like to hang with the men's groups


Why are they setting their sights so low? Rather than hanging with the men they should be dropping them. Women dropping men get the bonus of not only hurting the boys legs but also their egos.



flafonta said:


> 1- Try as many as you can and find one that fits well and that you like the riding
> 2- Buy the one you fall in love with
> 3- At this price range, Carbon is your friend
> 4- Don't care too much about magazine reviews, or Shimano 105 vs Ultegra vs Campi


Depending on her size:
1) Test rides may be hard to find. May have to ride a slightly different model than the one she actually decides on. Try to test ride with the same wheels and saddle on different bikes - especially after she has narrowed it down to a couple of brands.
2) Careful not to fall in love with bling - just like the bedroom, turn off the lights and choose the one with the best ride.
3) The weight advantages of carbon are diminished in smaller frames so keep your options open. Also remember the deep dish wheels can fatigue a rider with less upper body strength - boring shallow box rims may give a better ride.
4) After the saddle the shifters are the other most important contact point. Choose Shimano, SRAM or Campagnolo based on what fits her hands best and feels most comfortable. My wife was amazed when she changed brands and got rid of the brand hubby #1 had bought her because it was the same thing he rode. 

Finally be sure to get the right saddle and handlebars which will probably not be what comes on the bike.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

flafonta said:


> 3- At this price range, Carbon is your friend


Titanium is, too. Lynskey would be another option. I own a Merlin and I fully admit I am biased about Ti. It's great for long rides.

Like il sogno, I'm 5'4" and ride a men's bike, albeit the smallest size. I do have short reach and shallow drop bars.


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## flafonta (Sep 15, 2008)

Keeping up with Junior said:


> ...Also remember the deep dish wheels can fatigue a rider with less upper body strength


Can you explain? I don't know much about the wheel differences. My Orbea Orca came with Reynolds Assaults which I like, but I have nothing to compare against.


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Aero = Sail*

Well the deeper profile wheels like yours have some aerodynamic benefits however they also catch a lot of wind when there is a crosswind. So instead of the bike slicing through a headwind you are "steering" the bike into the crosswind and fighting the handlebars to keep going straight. As a result the ride can be more fatiguing than a shallower, boxier rim like an Open Pro. Aerodynamics aside it can be a more exhausting ride if it taxes your upper body strength. YMMV


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## carbonLORD (Aug 2, 2004)

My carbon picks, in order: BMC, Orbea, Colnago, Cervélo, Pinarello, De Rosa.


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## CougarTrek (May 5, 2008)

flafonta said:


> 1- Try as many as you can and find one that fits well and that you like the riding
> 2- Buy the one you fall in love with
> 3- At this price range, Carbon is your friend
> 4- Don't care too much about magazine reviews, or Shimano 105 vs Ultegra vs Campi
> ...


You've got it down.

I'll add that they should try both the WSD and unisex offerings and not be talked into a WSD by sales staff if they fit just as well or better on another frame.

O, and just so the recommendation doesn't come from a Magazine anymore... The Wilier Izoard kicks major rear end. Feels like I've got a jet engine (without the weight penalty) and their XS fits even tiny little 5' me. Heads up, their WSD frame the Mimosa is just an Izoard with a different paint scheme, so if you go for a Wilier just pick the paint you like better.


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## CougarTrek (May 5, 2008)

flafonta said:


> Can you explain? I don't know much about the wheel differences. My Orbea Orca came with Reynolds Assaults which I like, but I have nothing to compare against.



I'll give my experience. Even my Krysium Elites drag me around and beat me up in cross winds. It's all I can do to hold the bike straight and my whole body aches after 10 or 15 minutes.

I weigh ~120lbs which is just not enough so the wind can really push me around. Manhandling (literally) a bike at 22mph in a group is nerve-wracking to say the least and dangerous. Not to mention it takes all the joy out of the long canyon descents around here (they become "OMG! what's the wind going to do to me around this hairpin, into traffic, off the side of the cliff to certain death, etc?)

I'll be getting a set of custom wheels with standard (non-bladed) spokes and cross-wind friendly rims. It's just not worth the aero qualities of bladed spokes and deep rims for me.


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