Road Bike for Mrs. Hippie

[DirtyHippieUTE]

Well... Mrs. Hippie is on board with the triathalon idea. She can swim but she can't run and hasn't done any biking except mtn biking.

We need to get her a cheap roadie (pref. used) so she can start putting in some miles.

How do you
1- Determine frame size for a road bike?
2- Determine frame size for a woman?
3- Find a cheap used road bike?

I forgot to add... My wife can ride the same road bike I ride but the top tube is too long for her... Does this mean she's going to have to step down a frame size and just raise the seat?

[Archaea]

Go to the best qualified bike mechanic.

Too long a top tube is too big a frame.

It's a strange combination of factors, it's hard to give any fast formula.

It's a function of torso length, femur length, flexibility, so it's difficult to give you one analysis to determine frame size. It's easier to take one too small and with seat posts and stems adjust it than to make it right with one too long.

[creekster]

So what ever happened? You didn't get nmuch response, unfortunately. Did you get her a bike ?

[DirtyHippieUTE]

Not yet... Mrs. Hippie hasn't really been pushing.

She and I are going to do a triathalon next year. She thinks we should start with a sprint tri and then try an olympic tri (too many tries).

I figure if she isn't in a hurry to get a bike she's probably not in a hurry to ride a bike or train so I'll leave her in the wind for a while.

If she's serious about the tri thing she'll have to get off her arse and get a bike.

[SteelBlue]

Colorado Cyclist has a great bike fit program on their website. It takes a little while, but I think it's pretty accurate. Ebay is great for used road bikes. I picked mine up for $600.