new bike shortlist so far - what do you think?

[Scotmitchy]

So far I have seen the Trek Lexa SL, female specific, best price £750, looks v nice, and the Trek 1.2 at £600, though not female specific.

Online I have spotted the specialized dolce 24 women's specific too, at £650.

Anyone got any thoughts on these bikes, or any others they fancy throwing into the mix.

I want as low a price as possible, however, I am also wanting a decent road bike so I notice the increase in speed etc.

Thanks

 

[Norm]

I like the Dolce. I pulled one out of the box and bolted it together last year and I liked it even more after that.

 

[vickster]

I am not sure if you have an Evans close but they are obliging on test rides

They have a couple of Fujis that may be of interest, price wise if nothing else

http://www.evanscycl...d-bike-ec024657

http://www.evanscycl...d-bike-ec024656

Cycling Active did a feature on women's roadbikes earlier in the year, from what I recall the Trek came out top, ahead of the Spesh

The Lexa is £600 http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/lexa-s-compact-2011-womens-road-bike-ec023941 (same one?)

They were also pretty favourable to this, especially the colour!

http://www.evanscycl...d-bike-ec027481

The Specialized Allez's are on sale right now, the Sport 27 iss down to £600 from £720

http://www.evanscycl...ge=20&x=28&y=17


How tall are you and what size needed? On the men's bikes you'll definitely want a change of saddle, possibly stem and even the bars, so add a hundred quid or so to make it more female friendly - I am 5'10 with long limbs and I needed to do this stuff on a 54.5" frame (bespoke build from the bare frame)

The other bike (men's) that gets raved about for the money is the Decathlon Triban 5, very light and well specced for £500 (again you'll need to adapt).

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/triban-5-172072740/ Smallest is a 51cm, so probably too big if you are less than 5'6ish. Spesh go down to 49cm, while most women's bikes only go up to 53cm from what I recall


If you are 5'5 or under, I was told that women's geometry is helpful, for a big lump like me, less so but I still needed to adjust for reach, simply as my hands are smaller than a 5'10 guy!

 

[TheBoyBilly]

FWIW I have a stable of 5 bikes I regularly use. Most folk would have good things to say about my choice of Secteur for a road bike, Boardman for an MTB and Brompton for a folder. The other two may polarise opinion- a Langster singlespeed and.......a Charge Steamer for jaunts into Brighton on a sunny day (when's that then?) or down to the shops. All of them, for me, are great bikes and I enjoy each one in a different way.
Make your choice on what suits you. Walk out of the shop with a bike you are half-hearted about and you are stuck with it.

( Get the Dolce )

Bill

 

[HLaB]

I like the look of that LexaSL which can take guards if need be but that LexaS looks nice too and the Dolce anyhow you can always fit crud guards the more important thing is what feels right; that probably doesn't help but enjoy

 

[Scotmitchy]

I popped into evans in leeds and they didn't have much to try

However, I am going to head to Dales Cycles, adn a few others. The specialised dolce is getting my vote so far, price wise, and trek lexa sl for looks.

Oh, and I am 5'4 .

 

[Scotmitchy]

OMG just asked evans online if they will pricematch the Dolce and they have replied and said yes! I need to get to evans to actually check the bike out, and confirm that they are a cycle to work provider!

 

[g00se]

Evans run their own cycle to work scheme (at least they did a year back). So you can't use them with cyclescheme.

 

[Scotmitchy]

That's a shame, cos I managed to get them to pricematch it to £494, even though the link I sent to them was a 2010 model - they agreed to pricematch lol

 

[Mrs Brown!]

Scot mitchy i have a question a bit unrelated to the bike, i notice your weight goals, i have increased my cycling efforts and have done 60 miles in the last 5 days and probably 30 miles the few weeks before. I have not lost a llb!! i am watching what i eat as i do not want to go on a mad diet when cycling any advice?

 

[wanda2010]

Hi Scotmitchy

I have the Trek 1.2 compact which I bought last August. It's my first road bike and I'm really enjoying it even though I'm not completely comfortable on it yet. Probably because I don't ride it every day. I found the gear changes took some getting used to but I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

As mine was the 'standard' model, I changed the saddle, and got smaller handlebars which helped with reaching for the brakes. I'm 4'11 so I got the 43cm size with 650c wheels. Perfect for me.

I won't try to influence you towards the Trek though. I tried a few others before settling on the Trek. Sizing is very important, especially the reach, so take your time and ride as many as you can get your hands on.

Good luck.

 

[Scotmitchy]

Hi guys - well, today I ordered the specialized dolce 24, and am very happy. As it is a C2W bike I suspect it will take a month or so to complete the paperwork, based on last year's experience.

I am very happy with it, it looked really nice in real life, and I had a try on a few different frame sizes to perfect the one I wanted. I've also ordered clipless shoes and pedals.

Regarding weight loss, I have been doing Scottish Slimmers too - that helps a lot. However, the past few weeks have been a weight gain, not a loss, I blame the holidays!