In need of a bike...

Ms K Sir A

I don't suppose any of you seasoned, experienced, intelligent, handsome road bikers out there have a road racer that would suit a 5' 5 lass without the need for me to re mortgage the house.....? I will need it fairly lively too... I've decided to start training for a triathalon (total madness) which is coming around in April... YES... April. I need to get on me bike, & pronto.

NeilMcEoigheann

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25458
If €458.39 tickles your fancy,
perhaps if you said how "deep" your bank is.

Lumen

NeilMcEoigheann wrote: »

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25458
If €458.39 tickles your fancy

57cm, 59cm or 61cm? Not likely to fit, is it?

DirkVoodoo

5'5", I'm guessing you need a 50 or 52cm frame. Are you a lady? A woman specific bike might be needed.

NeilMcEoigheann

Lumen wrote: »

57cm, 59cm or 61cm? Not likely to fit, is it?

go to hell lumen. yeah i probably should have checked that, oh well,

scottreynolds

Ms K Sir A wrote: »

I don't suppose any of you seasoned, experienced, intelligent, handsome road bikers out there have a road racer that would suit a 5' 5 lass without the need for me to re mortgage the house.....? I will need it fairly lively too... I've decided to start training for a triathalon (total madness) which is coming around in April... YES... April. I need to get on me bike, & pronto.

For your first bike, and for a triathlon, I'd recommend a road bike (not a tri bike) as you'd need a road bike anyway even if you do triathlons more and more. The distance for your first tri for the bike are likely only to be about 40kms on the bike. Once you enjoy the tri scene you'll probably buy a second bike (tri specifc).

If your employed see if you can't get a bike on the cycle scheme the govt has launched.

Anyway back to your original question....... whats your budget approximately? You'd be looking for around 750 - 1,000 for a decent bike if you plan on doing triathlons. People here won't agree on the price but i have always found a slightly better bike, with better components, will poerform better.

Also, I recommend going to a bike shop thats has a good range for Tri. I know Dublin is a little way from you but I'd say get a budget in mind and go and see either Cycle Super Store or Wheelworx Bikes. They are both on the correct side of dublin for you and will measure you and help get the correct fit. You could buy online but if its your first bike you might like the extra service you'll get locally.

Finally, here's some ideas :

Giant Avail 2.5 W 2009 Model at wheelworx
http://www.wheelworxbikes.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_158&products_id=1450

Lapierre R-Lite Womens
http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=35&idproduct=24238

scottreynolds

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

5'5", I'm guessing you need a 50 or 52cm frame. Are you a lady? A woman specific bike might be needed.

Oh sorry I guessed you were a women after calling all the cyclists handsome. Its a classic manipulation technique -- flattering someone to get there attention. Us men aren't smart enough to do that.

Gavin

Ms K Sir A wrote: »

I don't suppose any of you seasoned, experienced, intelligent, handsome road bikers out there have a road racer that would suit a 5' 5 lass without the need for me to re mortgage the house.....? I will need it fairly lively too... I've decided to start training for a triathalon (total madness) which is coming around in April... YES... April. I need to get on me bike, & pronto.

She says Lass ! And her name is Ms !

kenmc

If you're in portlaoise, get in touch with Trilogy Tri club if you're not already - they have loads of ladies, maybe one of them is looking to offload a bike. Will also be able to give you some advice and encouragement.

DirkVoodoo

Ah I missed that bit, and the handsome bit.

Caroline_ie

I wouldn't say she necessarily needs a Ladies bike, she's 5'5 so she can easily ride a man ( unisex ) bike = more choice! ( just get a nicer saddle )

Ms K Sir A

I'm such a doofus... Thank you all for the replies. Any time I posted anything by way of a response to a thread before on boards, I got notified of replies by email. When I received no emails I presumed I got no replies. Yes I am female. & yes employed the age old eye fluttering technique shamelessly to encourage response. And thank you so much for the responses. I am employed... but currently 'enjoying' a four day weekend thanks to our current econ climate... this addresses two of your questions.... cycle to work scheme almost certainly not an option.... & budget.... limited. I'm thinking 400.00 is my upper limit. I know, I know, it's ridiculas. If I could throw 2k at a bike I'd prob be asking these questions in a shop. I didn't realise there was a diff between a Tri bike and a road bike.... I presume a road bike would be fine. And I am a new member of Trilogy since Monday... bit shy with it... just starting to get to know people. And I reallydon't want to offend anyone by asking for a bike with that budget. Plus... don't want to embarrass anyone into lending a bike either. Anyway thanks again for the responses. & apologies for not replying before now.

scottreynolds

Caroline_ie wrote: »

she's 5'5 so she can easily ride a man

Caroline you are shameless.

Caroline_ie

scottreynolds wrote: »

Caroline you are shameless.

Hey - don't take that out of context! ye Twisted minded... you don't know what people do with kiwi in my country!

scottreynolds

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Hey - don't take that out of context! ye Twisted minded... you don't know what people do with kiwi in my country!

Unfortunately Caroline after watching the World Cup Qurter final of rugby last year, it still hurts, I know exactly what you guys do to kiwis.

That quote was a classic example of how the press work :-)..... Commenting only bits and bytes.

Ms K Sir A

scottreynolds wrote: »

Caroline you are shameless.

Seems I'm in good company :):):):)

Seriously.... there's a diff between male & female saddles? I'm almost afraid to ask.... I'm hesitant to even describe that thing they want u to sit on as a saddle in the first place, it's more like the back of the blade of a knife.... scary stuff....

I would also like to apologise for starting another post today for same prior to realising I had some responses here.

Caroline_ie

Ms K Sir A wrote: »

Seems I'm in good company :):):):)

Seriously.... there's a diff between male & female saddles? I'm almost afraid to ask.... I'm hesitant to even describe that thing they want u to sit on as a saddle in the first place, it's more like the back of the blade of a knife.... scary stuff....

I would also like to apologise for starting another post today for same prior to realising I had some responses here.

Well anatomic-ly speaking ... they are designed for us, they are wider and shorter'ish and provide with better backsite comfort. It's the same for bibs, the padding will be diferent.

I would recommend any of the Specialized Jett saddles.

evanscycles.co.uk have a great selection of ladies saddles ( I found )

Ryaner

Ms K Sir A wrote: »

I'm such a doofus... Thank you all for the replies. Any time I posted anything by way of a response to a thread before on boards, I got notified of replies by email. When I received no emails I presumed I got no replies.

Some boards emails are getting tagged as spam by some filters in use on the internet.

Ms K Sir A

Ryaner wrote: »

Some boards emails are getting tagged as spam by some filters in use on the internet.

Thanks... funny thing is.... once I replied to my own post... THEN I started getting email notices!!

Still in the market by the way. :-)

Greyspoke

My brother is about to sell a bike that might fit the bill - the only thing is, it's worth 600 but he'd let it go for 500 if it avoided the hassle of having to advertise. Can you stretch that far?
It's a Ribble 7005 SL with Campag Veloce groupset and Mavic Aksium wheels (which I appreciate might not mean much). Size wise, the frame is 46cm with a sloping top tube which isn't quite a small as it sounds - he is 5-8/9 but it has a long 125mm stem which could be changed for something quite a bit shorter.
As you're a triathlete, might you be at the Wheelworx duathlon on Sunday? - he might be persuaded to bring it out there.
This should have all been PM'd to you but I haven't figured out how to do it.
Let me know.

Ms K Sir A

PM sent.... To pick them up you click on your private messages under where it says Welcome Grey Spoke. Thanks.