So my girlfriend is going to start riding a little here and there. I got her bike out yesterday to tune it up, and man is it heavy. It's a 2009 trek 820...steel frame. I think she will have some trouble getting around with it. What does everyone think? Any suggestions. I don't think i can really lighten up the bike that much, maybe grab a new-used aluminum frame. I wanted to get her into the group ride on Tuesdays at Allaire but I don't want her bike to give her a negative experience.
Heavy Heavy bike
- Thread starter Moron626
- Start date
Provided everything works, she will be fine. Particularly at Allaire with its mostly flat and flowy nature. Most of us got started on heavy, entry-level, bikes: Mine was a 35lb fully rigid steel tank in the late 80's. That Trek is enough bike for her to decide if she likes riding in the woods, and the Allaire ride is the perfect environment.
vanseggern1
Active Member
Agree with al415. I would wait to see if she enjoys it, and then think about a better/lighter bike later on. At this point, I think her fitness level would be more of a factor than bike weight, IMO.
UnionRider475
Well-Known Member
I had a Trek 800 for the first 5 years of my mountain biking - granted it was the mid 80's and wasn't a bad bike for the times . It got me into mb and made me want to get a better bike . I think that bike will do the same for her.
Frank
Wookie
+3 I would leave the bike as-is, just make sure everything is in working order. This way she will be familiar with the bike when you throw her into a new environment. One of our regulars (Jackie) showed up with a beach cruiser complete with basket (no sarcastic remarks please) last year, and she was fine.
vanseggern1
Active Member
What kind of shape is your friend in? I'm faster than most of my friends on any given ride and they have somewhat significantly lighter bikes than mine. We have a saying for fun that "It's the rider, not the bike."
Mildly Wild
Active Member
I don't know if this applies here, but FWIW anyway:
When my girlfriend and I first met, she had this very pretty WalMart Mtn bike she had been riding for about a year. We rode some easy stuff together (like rail trail level) but she was always struggling. I asked her to switch bikes for a few minutes. She could not believe how much her ride quality improved, and I couldn't beileve how difficult and downright annoying it was to ride her WM Spcl.
Now at the time I was riding a K2 hybrid so it was not any great shakes either. And I never could figure out what is was about her bike that made it such a pain to ride, as everything about it was in good working order. I am thinking it was just a terrible design. She gave it to Goodwill but I was concerned at the time that whoever got it would get a poor 1st impression of what riding is like. Felt like she should have given it to the scrapyard instead.
Having had that experience I guess now I would ride the bike in question first before handing it off to a newbie.
When my girlfriend and I first met, she had this very pretty WalMart Mtn bike she had been riding for about a year. We rode some easy stuff together (like rail trail level) but she was always struggling. I asked her to switch bikes for a few minutes. She could not believe how much her ride quality improved, and I couldn't beileve how difficult and downright annoying it was to ride her WM Spcl.
Now at the time I was riding a K2 hybrid so it was not any great shakes either. And I never could figure out what is was about her bike that made it such a pain to ride, as everything about it was in good working order. I am thinking it was just a terrible design. She gave it to Goodwill but I was concerned at the time that whoever got it would get a poor 1st impression of what riding is like. Felt like she should have given it to the scrapyard instead.
Having had that experience I guess now I would ride the bike in question first before handing it off to a newbie.
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McKMtnBk
New Member
Having recently upgraded from the Trek 800 to a Trek 4300 the best thing about getting off the old bike is geometry=handling not weight loss. Having said that I am a 250 lb dude and I'm guessing your GF is not a 250 lb dude so bike weight may matter for her. I like the original recommendation to have her ride a few times and go from there. Several years ago I bought my wife a "big box store" bike because she wanted to ride. She rode.... TWICE and then parked it for 3 years. I recently cleaned it up for her and she is riding a couple times a week now. FWIW
k4z00
New Member
30+ LB 29ers.
Full suspension 29ers, with a center coil that doesn't adjust, and a seat that will bottom out on a roadside curb. 35 lbs. 65% return rate.
Hardtail, slightly better. They have a 50% return rate. Usually a busted rim, crappy derailleur blowing up.
Rigid. <10% return rate. I've personally only seen one come back, and they returned it at exactly the 60 day return policy end, stating it "didn't fit their needs." It was heavily used. 🙂
k4z00
New Member
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