My wife needs a bike

Hello chaps

So, I have got the whole family out cycling. The kids are on Isla bikes which they flying about on.

My wife has a 10 year old cheap specialised, it's heavy. She moans that her butt hurts when we cycle and she rides like my granny (ie handle bar 8" above seat post, rarely out of the big ring slowly stirring the pedals...).

I want her to be happier and I suspect that's with a cooler retro bike that I built up for her

She's 5foot nothing, small, slim, (perfectly formed if she reads this) short legged. She's never going to go bomb down hill or do any serious trails rides.

I would love some suggestions for medium price retro bikes I could either look out for or buy now for her. I would very much like to restore or bring back to life something for her. I think that would really engage her with cycling with the whole family.

Fundamentally I think she needs a small light bike with colourful components and perhaps front suspension to make things a little less bumpy. Advice on how to make a saddle comfortable is also gratefully received!!

All in I want this project to cost £400 plus some elbow grease. It mustn't cost more

Any help appreciated - and thanks for reading

J

Re:

There's a 14" Kona Hahana on eBay at the moment that would be a perfect starter for your project it even has suspension forks and it will probably go for a song.

Have a look on the Ebay sub forum.

Re:

Well, yes that's the kind of thing. Annoyingly it's just ended. I am in Bristol and it looks like they were only going to want it collected so perhaps it was never to be. But yes, exactly that's what I want I think! Thanks for the super fast reply- looks like someone in Warrington got a lovely project. J

Re:

Its unsold. Might be worth a collection request in the Chat forum.

I will look into that now, thanks - as you can see I am very new to all of this

J

Re:

I have a 14" Univega 506 frame as a complete bike or frame. Very under rated bikes in their day. I also have a ladies Terry saddle to go with it ;-)

My wife is the same height and gets on well with her 14" Konas. Although not the most common size they still come up fairly frequently and for your budget you'll get a very nice one.

Re:

To be honest mate, with that sort of budget I'd be looking at something like this:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... ntain-bike

Don't be put off by Halfords, these bikes get very good reviews.

In retro terms you should not need to spend anywhere near that to get a great bike. Early 90's Marins came in 15" frame size and look ace. I picked up a mint, virtually unused, bright neon yellow one in ting size for less that £10!! What ever you do, don't rush. With such a healthy budget you can afford to be picky. You need to nail down more of what you want from the spec too. Modern front suss? Light weight over all else? How many gears? Full suss?

Re:

Oh, and think about getting a steel frame then getting it powdercoated. Take her along and let her choose the colour. Gil will be able to sort replacement decals out.

With the saddle go to a Specialized store and get them to measure her for a body geometry one.

Re:

I am really grateful for such a brilliant set of helpful replies.

My budget is "all in", if there is one thing I have learnt about retro bikes it's that the bikes are quite cheap but all the bits to get it how you want it are expensive.

The small Konas look ideal and the idea of getting it powder coated will really get her buy in.

I think she would prefer some sort of front suspension. I would like to be able to service this.

This whole journey for me is part of rediscovering an old hobby, both the bikes and the mechanical side. I want it to be an old bike because I think they are quite a bit easier for me to service (and, frankly they are cooler)

I think the key component will be weight, and I think that's both in the frame and the wheels. Could any Konanuts help me out with what I should be searching for?

Cheers
J