Johan Joubert 46 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Thanks Ratty!! Any suggestions of ladies shorts with comfortable padding or brands that we should rather avoid?For lady's Assos or Santini.Don't buy cheap!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edition 507 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Throw her out of a vehicle moving at 30kph onto rocks and gravel every weekend. If after a month she is still your fiance and remains interested in mountain biking then commit to spending the bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted September 30, 2016 Share My fiance is 1.66m so i guess that would be a medium frame? I will definitely upgrade the wheel/tires to tubeless and fit some flat pedals. Was also considering changing the drive train 1 x for simplicity. I've heard/read that it is better to learn on a hardtail that a dual suspension - any truth to this statement?Probably a small - possibly a.medium - Scott will be a small for sure - Spez maybe a.medium but likely a small will be better. Falling while learning is the same off a HT or ds bike- you won't notice the difference really - except in volume of the complaining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted September 30, 2016 Share Throw her out of a vehicle moving at 30kph onto rocks and gravel every weekend. If after a month she is still your fiance and remains interested in mountain biking then commit to spending the bucks.Good thinking- is she allowed a helmet or must she just htfu? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surprize Posted September 30, 2016 Share Throw her out of a vehicle moving at 30kph onto rocks and gravel every weekend. If after a month she is still your fiance and remains interested in mountain biking then commit to spending the bucks.Lol. If I wanted to put her off cycling so I can rather spend the money on upgrades for myself this could have been the answer. But because I want to encourage her instead, this might not be the best idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted September 30, 2016 Share Lol. If I wanted to put her off cycling so I can rather spend the money on upgrades for myself this could have been the answer. But because I want to encourage her instead, this might not be the best idea...It's going to happen anyway... off a bike... prepare for it... Budget for a skills course or two - first thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louisianalouise Posted September 30, 2016 Share Can't second a skills course enough. Preferably with a female coach - not sure where you live but Joanna Dobinson is GREAT and travels round country teaching women how to shred. I give her two thumbs up. Hardtail/dual really depends on budget. Unless you can spend 35/40K looking at a new bike, you should prob stick to a hardtail or you will be getting very entry level dual sus. Shorts: don't be cheap and get her some of her own chamois cream (trust me she doesn't want to dip her fingers in that half used up tub of yours).I would stick with a 2x and maybe upgrade later - that 24/36 granny gear saved me many times (and still does) on steep terrain.Lastly, and I know this is hard, DONT TELL HER HOW TO RIDE! You cannot teach her the skills she needs! Get her a 2-3 hour 1on1 coaching session and make yourself scarce! ???? good luck. Hubby and I have many happy miles together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johan Joubert 46 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Can't second a skills course enough. Preferably with a female coach - not sure where you live but Joanna Dobinson is GREAT and travels round country teaching women how to shred. I give her two thumbs up. Hardtail/dual really depends on budget. Unless you can spend 35/40K looking at a new bike, you should prob stick to a hardtail or you will be getting very entry level dual sus. Shorts: don't be cheap and get her some of her own chamois cream (trust me she doesn't want to dip her fingers in that half used up tub of yours).I would stick with a 2x and maybe upgrade later - that 24/36 granny gear saved me many times (and still does) on steep terrain.Lastly, and I know this is hard, DONT TELL HER HOW TO RIDE! You cannot teach her the skills she needs! Get her a 2-3 hour 1on1 coaching session and make yourself scarce! ???? good luck. Hubby and I have many happy miles together!Amen sister.No cheap shorts and A lot of chàmi cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V18 Posted September 30, 2016 Share I went through the whole process only to buy twice. Go to specialised store. I found their bikes to be well priced and decently specced for what my wife was intending to ride. The top tube is also the lowest of all the bikes we tried... And we tried a lot. She now rides a rumor and the bike is super capable so she won't outskill the bike too soon either. (she also likes the colour scheme but won't admit that it was the swingvote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch the stalker Posted October 1, 2016 Share Can't second a skills course enough. Preferably with a female coachLastly, and I know this is hard, DONT TELL HER HOW TO RIDE! You cannot teach her the skills she needs!Get her a 2-3 hour 1on1 coaching session and make yourself scarce! I definitely second the above. I tried teaching my sister about 2 years back - if you search the forums you'll find me complaining about it.Eventually sent her on a skills course with Amy Beth McDougall, and she also spent some time riding with a female hubber (Hayley, I'm forever grateful to you for keeping me out of prison for murder, haha) and suddenly she could ride the bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V18 Posted October 1, 2016 Share With regards to apparel. Kit her out decently. It seems to be less of an issue with us less aestheticly inclined male counterparts. My wife bought a set of trail shorts and a jersey from fox in canal walk on one of my browse session. Somehow if she asks for something cycling related I can't help but oblige. The baggy shorts also make her much more likely to feel comfortable hanging around for a beer/boerie after the ride as opposed to hopping straight into the car. Flat pedals (proper flat pedals) and shoes that are spd capable eventually are great. Lightweight elbow/knee pads such as g-form/alpine stars are a major confidence booster and prevents this investment from becoming her most expensive phobia. Anyone will love cycling if set up right from the start... And please. Don't start on a route with more than 10percent gradients. There are plenty green routes to choose from usually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpelser Posted October 1, 2016 Share Buy an okay spec second hand bike as she may not take to it and you can then resell without a large loss, or if she loves it you'll eventually have to upgrade her. My wife started on a Silverback Sola4 but struggled to keep the 29" wheels rolling. Got her a 650B (Dual sus) which she rode for almost a year, then got a bargain carbon hardtail frame (29" again) and built a bike up with much lower spec than her 650B but she preferred the carbon hardtail. So over the course of the year she got stronger and "evolved" back to a 29er.She also met Arianne Kleynhans and then obviously wanted a Spaz Epic like Arainne. Now she's on a carbon 29" dualie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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