Modern times….

Has anyone ever bought a lower spec bike for going riding with their partner? For some reason I’d feel a bit of a prick going riding with the good lady on my several-thousand-pound full suss, while she rides a more sensibly priced hardtail. Partly becuase I’d have to deliberately ride more slowly to enjoy her company (and I do enjoy her company), which would feel patronising. I hate that “bloke in the lead, woman following” dynamic…

Anyone else feel this?

I always take my singlespeed if I ride with my wife and kids.

I can’t go sprinting off ahead and I tend to have to get off and walk at the same points.

and having the trailerbike attached tends to mean I get a reasonable work out regardless as my daughter has perfected the art of spinning her pedals at just the right pace that they make no conrtribution to our forward motion whilst still lookign like she’s trying.

I hate that “bloke in the lead, woman following” dynamic…

Anyone else feel this?

Never had a problem with this dynamic – the other half likes to be left alone when riding to attack things in her own time/way and doesnt like to slow me down. I dont want to push her too hard or be bouncing off her wheels all the time. Its the ideal solution?

And no, I use my regular bike. Though I am now likely to use the SS.

My other half buys her own bikes and rides what she wants. I wouldn’t attempt to patronise her by buying a downgraded bike in order to go riding with her.

I got an old rockhopper, generally with road tyres on for wife and child type rides…got this after an incident with a bike stand at a pub and a broken wheel on the yeti…also have compatibility issues with the child seat with the yeti.

I wouldn’t attempt to patronise her by buying a downgraded bike in order to go riding with her.

Not really patronising if your other half isnt overly confident or experienced, more caring and considerate.

I wouldn’t attempt to patronise her by buying a downgraded bike in order to go riding with her.

hmm…so you would ride along slowly on your normal bike?

I’m in the same boat as aP.

The Mrs rides whatever bike she wants and could’t give a stuff what bike I’m on.

Yup, I guess at the end of the day I need to find out what she thinks, not what I think. Useful, ta.

I’m in the same boat as aP.

The Mrs rides whatever bike she wants and could’t give a stuff what bike I’m on.

I think we’re drifting off point here, his point was he downgrades his own bike so as not to feel silly or go to fast, not that he downgrades his bike so that his missus doesnt feel silly.

So riding a cheaper bike would make him slower then? 😛

So riding a cheaper bike would make him slower then?

Certainly, I’ll give you a steel rigid 18 speed halfords special and time you on a run round your favourite trail, then do teh same on your £K bike and see which one you’re faster on?! 😯 🙄

I don’t see how a cheap bike is going to make you ride significantly slower (assuming you’ll be riding on fairly tame terrain at least).

EDIT: too slow, sorry for the echo. Comment still stands though.

I would think the chances of him buying an as you put it”18 speed halfords special” are quite slim though aren’t they….

And TBH as long as everything on the bike worked as it should i don’t really see there being a massive time difference. 😆

When I bought my first “proper” mtb, the missus insisted on the exact same model, assuming I’d done the requisite research and found it the best buy for the money…fair enough, but a tad embarrassing.

She’s had as good as, if not better bikes than mine since…

I think we’re drifting off point here, his point was he downgrades his own bike so as not to feel silly or go to fast, not that he downgrades his bike so that his missus doesnt feel silly.

correct

Actually she’d probably be more annoyed at the pointless waste of money (whilst not in SSStu’s league 😛 I still like to ride quite nice bikes, and so does my other half)

The Yeti.

If you really want to ride together get one of these.

Then you can both feel silly together. 😀

classic 😀

anyway, I was thinking plainclothes cotic or maybe a chameleon….

I think a few people are missing the point – not everybody’s wife or girlfriend is as into it as we are and my wife wouldn’t dare go in and buy a bike by herself. My brief for buying hers was it simply had to be comfortable and pretty because she’d know full well I’d worry about all the other stuff. (For the record, we went with a ’08 Spesh Myka FSR Expert) But I digress…

To the OP, I tend to ride my SS when riding with my wife, not because it makes me any slower but it does make those rides more of a workout and I am less likely to go tanking off too far ahead without realising.

That said, I can’t always win, I’ve told off when on the geared full suss for riding ‘with her’ in the climbs, yet on she’s moaned about me taking the Single because I’m forced to go bombing off on the climbs to stay on top of the gear and she only gets to see me at the top of every hill. 😀

As for buying a downgraded bike cause you might feel silly, nonsense. However, using it as an excuse to get something a bit niche (SS or CX) is fine 🙂

TheYeti – Member

anyway, I was thinking plainclothes cotic or maybe a chameleon…

Ah. So you just want to buy another bike then?

In that case go for it. 8)

I think both are true (new bike plus the ‘issue’) but this is more the sort of conversation I was hoping for to be honest 🙂

I ride at her speed and just talk to her as we cycle …. you do occasionally look like one of those all bling and no substance people as you do 6 mph along a canal on a £2k FS bike though.

I ride at her speed and just talk to her as we cycle …. you do occasionally look like one of those all bling and no substance people as you do 6 mph along a canal on a £2k FS bike though.

ok so now we have some understanding going on here, nice

you do occasionally look like one of those all bling and no substance people as you do 6 mph along a canal on a £2k FS bike though.

Hehe, yeah been there. Although an unruffled looking me and a gasping determined wife wearing the grimace of steely determination does tell more of the story. “Person takes much less experienced partner on their favourite hobby” is a common scene at trail centres, climbing walls, on mountains etc etc.

When I go out with the Mrs I usually ride the heavy FSer, cos it’s my slowest climbing bike. Also, if we’re at Cwmcarn (which we often are) then I get to play on the FR section on it, whilst she recovers looking at the view.

I just let my fiance ride my orange 5 and I take my singlespeed, she then gets all the comfort and does not get put off by having to ride a crappy cheap bike. It stops me wanting to show off too as I am crap on a rigid at anything harder than tame!!

My bird always nicks my Prophet while I ride the old hardtail.

LOL!!!!!!!!

Best STW thread of 2009 so far 🙂

I totally know what youre saying dudes

No really I do

I have a spare Thomson post with a ‘comfy’ seat for my lady

SHe has y 575 and I ride along on an old Raleigh

Why not just spend the money you would on downgrading your bike on upgrading hers? It seems a lot more sensible than buying a bike you don’t really need to, what, salve your conscience? Just slow down or find a faster partner 😉

I bought a single speed to ride with he wife (full sus seemed a bit OTT riding along the prom) but she preferred it so she now rides it! 20″ frame, seat dead low as she’s 5ft4″

So then I got a geared Inbred and built it up with “spare” parts I had. Problem was, I actually enjoyed the hardtail more that the full sus so the spare parts eventually got replaced with bling parts either bought or borrowed off the full sus.

Poor full sus, so unloved now and still missing essential parts.

slight divergance from the topic…………….

took my mum to cannock chase (no not like that, you at the back, be quiet)

never seen a guy on a full susser look so ashamed as when he was overtaken by my mum on her pink appolo ladies bike, with a total of 10 gears, no suspension, and bright pink paintwork.

Fear and a lack of functioning brakes will overome suspension any day 🙂

Hehe, I love these threads! Being on the other side of things (i.e. I’m ‘the wife’), I love hearing your points of view. Btw, lots of brownie points to Yeti for being so caring (using his other half as an excuse for a lovely new bike)… if it were me I’d definitely use it as an excuse to get a Cotic! Probably a simple – unless she’s faster than you!

P.S. I’ve just justified needing a ss because I sometimes get the chance to ride when my husband’s at work and obviously (without a car) riding to a trail on a fully geared bike would be ott 😉

Why not just spend the money you would on downgrading your bike on upgrading hers? It seems a lot more sensible than buying a bike you don’t really need to, what, salve your conscience? Just slow down or find a faster partner

It’s not really about my conscience, I’d just feel uncomfortable with the situation – I want to enjoy stuff with her on a equal footing, it’s more fun that way. There, that’s it! That’s what I mean!

sounds to me like the OP needs an excuse for a new bike so yes you need a cheaper bike.

But in answer to the question no I don’t feel need to that.

Well, the answer is obvious to me!

Upgrade her bike!! 8)

Why not just spend the money you would on downgrading your bike on upgrading hers? It seems a lot more sensible than buying a bike you don’t really need to, what, salve your conscience? Just slow down or find a faster partner

It’s not really about my conscience, I’d just feel uncomfortable with the situation – I want to enjoy stuff with her on a equal footing, it’s more fun that way. There, that’s it! That’s what I mean!

And how exactly does that change anything? Still makes more sense to upgrade her bike 🙂

Yep……I have a spare raceface XY post with my missus’ seat on and it goes in my element team sc when we go out riding and I get the hardtail!!!! Sometimes swap the stem if we’re going out for long rides. I always have the trailer and kids in so that tends to put the brakes on a bit……

I told the mrs just this evening that I was selling her bike to buy new stuff for mine. She was none too pleased, even though she hasn’t ridden it in 18 months. I wouldn’t really sell it. She likes to boast to the other mothers that she has a Kona with full XT & Deore discs. At which point, she tells me, they usually stare blankly at her.
She scared to ride my Enduro because its way too big for her.

If you ride your good bike your going to wear it out. It makes more sense to use a cheaper bike, which is cheaper to maintain with cheaper replacement parts.

For example, Say you do 2000 miles a year with your other half and you go through a set of rings, a couple of chains and a cassette. If you were using your good bike with full xt your looking say £200, however if you were using a cheaper bike with deore throughout it would cost you say £100, that doesnt include increased wear on suspension forks and bushings and pivots.

why trash a good bike when you can ride a cheaper one.