New bike for the wife...

[dudi]

The wife is showing interest in getting into cycling. mainly for fitness, but we all know where that leads to!

We went to our friendly LBS today and had a look at some bikes. the one she liked the look of in the shop is the Claud Butler Odessey hybrid bike...
Picture:

It looks like a nice bike, she likes the styling, I like the equipment on it.

We can get it for between £210 and £250, which is around the right price range for her.

Does anyone have any input? know much about this bike? any alternative suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Andrew

 

[Globalti]

Looks like a nice comfortable bike but the only downside is the dropped top tube (crossbar). Unless she is really nervous about throwing a leg over the saddle she would do better to go for a model with a flatter top tube. Why? because that's a stronger design; it creates two triangles out of the frame which are strong structures. The frame you have chosen will be weaker in engineering terms because of the folding or bending forces, so the manufacture will have used stronger tubing making it heavier. You can see that the bottom tube or downtube has been shaped to try to make it stiffer in compensation. The only point to watch out for is that what ever frame she buys must be suited to a woman's shape, which is generally longer in the legs and shorter in the upper body.

 

[Willow]

I have a mongoose 450 which I'am happy with

 

[Priscilla Parsley]

I have had my Claude Butler Classic for over 3 years, it has served me really well and I liked the fact that the bar is so low and you cycle in a skirt, I also found it to be super comfy, it is only recently that I have wanted to get more serious and faster, but it took me 6 years to get to that point, so I think it served a good purpose by keeping me on the road hassle free. mine is super heavy so if she has to lug it up any steps like to top floor flats think on.

get a nice Pannier from Basil too as it takes her from bike to shop/office which is much better that those horrible black commuter ones that Never go with what your wearing.

 

[The Jogger]

Nice bike

 

[soulful dog]

Can't offer any input on alternative bikes (Giant Expression DX?) since all I've ever ridden is my old second hand CB Odyessy, but from a newbie perspective it seems a pretty solid and fairly comfortable bike (though mine doesn't have the front suspension forks like the newer versions) - a decent bike to start out on, and should be good enough to serve it's purpose like Priscilla Parsley has just said in her post.

Though if your wife is just considering getting into cycling, it might be worthwhile looking out for one second hand... that way if she doesn't stick with it you won't feel guilty about spending as much on a new bike. And if she does, you can treat her to a brand new bike in future when she might know more about the kind of bike that would suit her.

 

[domtyler]

"New bike for the wife..."

Haven't met her, but sounds like a reasonable trade to me.

IGMC

 

[Scoosh]

It is a general principle that, in bikes at the lower end of the price spectrum, front suspension adds weight without doing much (enough) to justify its existence. It looks like it could be useful but isn't much cop really. I suppose it could depend on the pothole/road ratio in your area

Mrs Scoosh has had a CB Odyssey (no front sus, twistgrip gear shift) for about 5 years and commutes to school daily. It is a good, comfy workhorse and she has since also acquired a Spesh Dolce Elite (a good road bike), bought through the Cycle-to-Work scheme. Loves them both, each for their own job.

 

[Ivan Ardon]

+1 to Scooch's comments about front suspension at this price point.

How about the slightly cheaper CB Classic Woman's for around £200?

http://www.falconcycles.co.uk/CORP/cb/classicW.html

 

[dudi]

I've spoken to her again about the bike and told her about the weight/strength issues that have been brought up, and she thinks she would prefer a lighter bike, so we're looking at the normal sort of frames now... we've had a look around the internet and have found 3 bikes that she likes the look of. they all look good enough to me, given that she is a total novice, I would imagine that comfort and ease of ride would be top of the list. so, in order of preference she has selected these:

Trek 3700 (£199 @ evans)

Pinnacle Aura 1.0 (£279 @ evans)

Claud Butler Urban 100 (£219 @ evans)

That's the order in which she likes the look of them, and I like the look of the spec on the Trek. although I would prefer to get her one without suspension, most of the ones she likes the look of seem to have them!
And we all know that there's no way I'm going to be allowed to get her a bike that's not pretty!!

 

[Ivan Ardon]

I used to have an Urban 300, which was a nice bike spoilt by front suspension, so I'd certainly have a good look at an Urban 100.

 

[Willow]

ooh I like the look of them see us girlies like a bit of a change from black and grey

 

[Globalti]

If she's not planning on going off road, go for the Claud Butler, it looks smashing and she doesn't need the weight of a cheap suspension for (which will stop suspending within a couple of years anyway).

Have a look at Islabikes; they are designed for children including young women.

 

[wafflycat]

Agreed with the not needing suspension if you're not going off-road. Even on stuff such as towpaths, you don't really require suspension. Plus at the budget, I'd be wary of going for suspension. Decent suspension *costs*

 

[dudi]

Maggot,
that's the plan - get her into cycling then she'll understand when I go and spend a grand on a new road bike! muhah!

She's veering towards the Claud Butler now anyway, and we've found a shop just up the road from us that has them in at £175... not too bad at all!

Thanks for all your help and advice, i'm sure it has helped us find our way to the best style of bike for her.

cheers.