A lassie pal of mine (5′ 6″) is looking at getting into cycling – roads, canal paths, forest etc – not really mountain biking.

She’s been pretty keen on getting a sit up and beg, ladies town bike/hybrid sort of thing, though I think I’ve convinced her that she’ll out grow that pretty quickly, especially if she want so ride any significant distance/time.

That was the experience I had with my wife – ended up buying her a road bike in the end, though in retrospect a CX would have been better.

She’s probably got about £400 to spend.

Second hand would be good, but she’s miles away so I can’t check them out for her and she comes back saying things like, “Yeah, it was OK but the gears don’t work” etc…

Anyone seen anything new or ex-demo or anything? She’s in Cardiff

How confident is she on bikes?

If a complete beginner would probably be better flat bar rather than drops, the last thing you want to do is put her off

Folk tour the world on flat-barred hybrids. How much further are you expecting her to go?

What she wants to do is what hybrids were for before the marketing men invented ‘gravel’

Just get a second hand mtb and stick some slicks (or semi-slicks) on it.

There’s a lot to be said for sit up and beg bikes, and the Dutch do them best.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Cyrus-Dutch-bicycle-/262390314255?hash=item3d17ae750f:g:j58AAOSwxp9W6rqt

These are excellent British imitations though, and bowl along nicely, I’ve done hundreds of miles offroad on mine and it’s very low maintenance.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Real-Classic-Vintage-Dutch-Retro-Loop-Frame-Style-Town-Bike-26-Wheels-17-Frame-/252359009275?hash=item3ac1c4e3fb:g:dFwAAOSwZQxW5aW-

If a complete beginner would probably be better flat bar rather than drops, the last thing you want to do is put her off

I don’t think drops are that much of an issue are they? I remember getting my first road bike and figuring out on the first decent that it’s perfectly easy to sit on the hoods and brake from there and only use the drops for a rest.

I much prefer them for anything non-technical (easy to carry, maneuver through gates etc, because they’re more compact) and give options for hand positions, flats to me only make sense on a mountain bike, they just feel weird and a little uncomfortable anywhere else. The downside is drops = horizontal top tubes, which aren’t confidence inspiring off road if you’ve not gotten over the ‘stop and straddle to top tube’ instinct.

It does depend what does she want to do though, drops would open up the potential for club runs with some slicks, CX racing etc. But it none of that appeals, then a hybrid might be what she’s after.

As for s/h, there’s a glut of canti braked cross bikes on ebay. Steer away from anything too racey and stiff and look for kona DrDew, Genesis Croix de fer, etc.

I think Boardman bikes from Halfords do some reasonable options in that price range.

And short v brakes on a canti cross bike work pretty well.

Yeah, I think she eventually wants to do sportives and things too – hence thinking about the CX.
I dunno, I ride a CX and love it.

Saying that, she hasn’t ridden since she was a kid and think maybe drops are off-putting.
She’s quite wee and skinny so I’m just thinking weight could be an issue.

Had a look at a few places today and saw this which I think is probably a good compromise:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-500-flat-bar-road-bike-black-id_8322664.html

Could be, or fit sissy levers to a CX bike, they look crap but once she realizes they’re mostly useless you can swoop in all manly like with your manly mechanic skills and remove them, then get invited in for a coffee afterwards.

Ah, if there’s ambition to Sportive etc it’s abit different. There’s a Spesh Dolce on ebay which might finish in budget. You can’t go big on tyres on them though.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Dolce-Sport-51cm-Ladies-Bike-2014-/162053748410?hash=item25bb27f6ba:g:Q7YAAOSw~oFXIzHp

Nice find on that Specialized – I’ll forward it on to her.

As for getting invited in for a coffee…. There’s no way I’m going in to the bizarre and **** up interpersonal relationship we have with each other haha

Nothing wrong with buying a new bike at that price. She could look online and send you the link. Least she is covered with a warranty and less chance of anyone being blamed if the bike is a total donkey.

If you have a old bit of frame or even a handlebar Evans Cycles will let you trade that in for a discount on a new bike.