Ladies road bike

[vickster]

If my geography serves me, I grew up around Bromley and that's NW Kent sorta ish
There's a giant store near Bromley, Bromley bikes have a good reputation I believe
@ianrauk is in Orpington, he may be able to advise on good shops

@jefmcg has a S avail and is around 5'6, so I'd think you'd want the XS but go see the chaps at Giant

Bike sizing can be tweaked if it's in the right ballpark, better to go a bit small than a bit big, easier to grow a bike with a longer stem than shrink a frame

 

[Hill Wimp]

I would strongly suggest firstly you use the size guides as just that and age has nought to do with it.

Reach for your arms is key. Many bikes that supposidly fit me have stupid reach lengths, way to long for me.

For me the bike fit was really key. I went from my fit to climbing two horrid hills around West Malling that had beaten me before. All of that was achieved by, to coin a Brailsford phrase, marginal gains. If you look at my saddle height you would think i was 5'10. If you can keep some money back for a good fit as i mentioned before Gary at Wildside in Tunbridge Wells was fab. He used to race out in Holland snd Belgium so has a good background.

 

[hepburn]

Thanks - I'm lucky there is a good shop in my town centre but I am willing to go further afield. I am just so worried about being ripped off because I (clearly) don't really know what I'm talking about..

 

[hepburn]

I would strongly suggest firstly you use the size guides as just that and age has nought to do with it.

Reach for your arms is key. Many bikes that supposidly fit me have stupid reach lengths, eay to long for me.

For me the bike fit was really key. I went from my fit to climbing to horrid hills around West Malling that had beaten me before. All of that was achieved by, to coin a Brailsford phrase, marginal gains. If you look at mu saddle height you would think i was 5'10. If you can keep some money back for a good fit and as i mentioned before Gary at Wildside in Tunbridge Wells was fab. He used to race out in Holland snd Belgium so has a good background.

I work near West Malling!

 

[vickster]

Thanks - I'm lucky there is a good shop in my town centre but I am willing to go further afield. I am just so worried about being ripped off because I (clearly) don't really know what I'm talking about..

Can you take someone with you? I don't think you'll be ripped off but you might be sold a suboptimal bike
Sit on a few, then walk away and say you need to think about it. Then come back here and see what the forum Mafiosi think

Oh and you inspired me this morning to finally follow up on that PPI I paid on a credit card about 20 years ago!!

 

[Mrs M]

My ladies Felt ZW is a nice fit for me, has nice narrow handlebars and easy to reach brake levers.
I am 5'2" but with longish legs.
Have fun trying lots of bikes. I scoured the Internet and ended up buying the bike I least liked the look of. It just "felt" right.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Dont be afraid to go and try lots of bikes out, find the one you like and then buy it cheaper on the internet.

I am the first to support my LBS but bikes are expensive in them and they get all the other money i spend on cycling "stuff" that i "really" need so they get lots of my cash.

 

[ianrauk]

We seem to be blessed with some really good bike shops in Bromley
As @vickster mentioned before, there's the Giant Store nr Bickley. Has a great reputation with a couple of top notch mechanics.
In Bromley town centre there is Bromley Bikes. Once again very knowledgeable staff. They stock Specialized, Willer, Cube and Whyte.
In Hayes there's Panagua Bikes, they used to be called BigFoot. They have a big road riding club, including women only rides, if that's your thing.
In Orpington town centre there is Cycles UK, a small chain but a very good one. Once again very knowledgeable and helpful staff. they are always my first stop if I need specialist advice or help. They stock a huge range of brands. Bianchi, GT, Willier, Cube,Trek, Whyte and Merida.

If any of these are in your area, then I would recommend you pop along and visit and have a chat and a look/feel of some bikes. None of the shops I have mentioned above will try and rip you off in any way, shape or form.

 

[jefmcg]

Dont be afraid to go and try lots of bikes out, find the one you like and then buy it cheaper on the internet.

Please don't do this.

 

[Ganymede]

Hiya! Kent lady here (as pointed out by @vickster) who has never bought a bike in Kent (sorry!). However I have been told that Senacre Cycles in Maidstone is a good 'un - my physio recommended it. If you work in West Malling it may not be too far. But probably you'd be better off looking nearer home. I live south of Maidstone so I'm not quite in your area and tbh you will be better served in NW Kent than I am out here in the sticks.

Good luck anyway - there are some good recomendations here, and I'm not a roadster myself.

 

[velovoice]

I found this webpage useful for trying to make sense of the different sizing methods used by the various major bike manufacturers such as Giant, Trek and Specialized. Also, the July issue of Cycling Active has a helpful article on bike sizing - boils all the conflicting data down to a few useful pointers.

Happy shopping and test riding!

 

[Cyclist33]

Please don't do this.

Don't see why not.

 

[vickster]

Can you really not see what's wrong with that scenario? There's nothing wrong with negotiating on price with the LBS after they help you however

Don't see why not.

 

[velovoice]

Don't see why not.

Because it devalues the provision of services. The LBS is providing you with services, like it or not, whether you then buy goods from them or not. If you take full advantage of those services and turn around and buy the goods somewhere else, then the LBS has not been paid for the services indisputably provided to you. You have effectively 'stolen' those services.

You may be happy for LBSs to lose business to online stores (and go out of business altogether as a direct result) but some of us are not.

If however you are never in need of any information, advice, a hands-on look at bicycles before you buy, test rides etc, then by all means buy your bicycles online. In which case, you have no need to ever go near an LBS and can eliminate the temptation to steal from them.

 

[HertzvanRental]

Because it devalues the provision of services. The LBS is providing you with services, like it or not, whether you then buy goods from them or not. If you take full advantage of those services and turn around and buy the goods somewhere else, then the LBS has not been paid for the services indisputably provided to you. You have effectively 'stolen' those services.

You may be happy for LBSs to lose business to online stores (and go out of business altogether as a direct result) but some of us are not.

If however you are never in need of any information, advice, a hands-on look at bicycles before you buy, test rides etc, then by all means buy your bicycles online. In which case, you have no need to ever go near an LBS and can eliminate the temptation to steal from them.

It would, indeed, be nice to know that there is still room for ethical behaviour in this topsy-turvy world!