Rather lost female beginner road cyclist looking for her first bike!

Im in the same position as
Im in the same position as you esme. Thanks all for your advice xx

When my better half bought a
When my better half bought a Trek Lexa (size 54) I had to ride it back from the shop and at 5’10” I found it quite cramped, so if you found it comfortable and they do look nice, that is the bike for you. Compromise at your peril, if you do not like the look of a bike you will not want to ride it so much. Good chance of picking up a little used second hand one as the weather will soon change and the nights draw in. (Hers only lasted about three months (less than 50 miles) before she decided she preferred mountain bikes so the buyer got a bargain)

Excellent! And some good
Excellent! And some good questions.

Out of interest, if the Lexa suited you so well, can you not get that? Or is it beyond your budget?

A few thoughts from me:
1) Try a number of different bikes to see what makes *you* *happiest*. This will make the biggest difference! If possible, do some head-to-head trials to see how they compare to one another on the same day, in the same conditions (and do all you can to ensure the shop technicial sets them up consistently the same as one another). I think I tried about 6 different bikes over a number of sessions before buying my BMC (which I still love dearly 4 years later – it has seen a couple of upgrades…).

2) There may be average male body proportions and different average female proportions, but everyone is different. My proportions are atypical for a male (very long legs compared to body length). This means that ‘male’ geometries out of the box are generally too long for me (too great a reach). However, I still comfortably ride ‘male’ bikes, e.g., by getting a shorter stem. Don’t be entirely put off by male bikes, if you see one you like the look of and is not too far off in terms of fit. Adjustments can be made – see below (although you may want to check crank length – if the bike comes with 175mm cranks, you may find that a bit long)

3) Many female bikes come with triple chainsets, where very few male bikes do. I am not too sure of the reason for this, unless the manufacturers think that females will typically operate over a narrower cadence range than males. A triple chainset will obviously be heavier than the equivalent double. I would imagine that if you do get a double, you’ll want a compact (rather than traditional).

4) Someone above said avoid Halfords. However, Boardman bikes are very good, so do not entirely discount those. Only challenge is that you may struggle to get Halfords to allow you to do a proper test ride. That was a complete deal breaker for me – they said I would only be allowed to ride around their car park!

5) Fit adjustments that are easy to make are:
* Stem length
* Stem height
* Saddle position (and saddle itself)
By playing with these, you can make some fairly dramatic changes to the geometry of any bike to ensure it fits you better (although obviously best if what you start with is not too bad)

6) Look for end-of-season deals as we start to go into winter. Although it is possible that the best deals on this year’s bikes will not pop up until early next year (I got a 2009 BMC in April 2010 for a big discount).

Let us know what you decide in the end

If you can try one and vfm is
If you can try one and vfm is important then this:
http://road.cc/content/news/131472-just-new-merlin-cycles-pr7-costing-just-£300

looks a great bike for the money.

Although the review is from the future evidently (20th Oct ’14) so it says.

I bought a unisex/mans bike
I bought a unisex/mans bike last year (in the sale, so good discount), and it’s fine for me. I’m pretty tall, and got the impression the women’s bikes were made for ‘petite’ women. I looked silly on them, and the proportions were all wrong for me. That said, the shop had 3 women’s bikes, and about 40 mens. 😐

Getting a good bike fit can be important though – the ‘fit’ at the bike shop was inadequate and I developed knee pain. Amongst other things, the saddle was way too low.

My wife rides a “non
My wife rides a “non women-specific” bike. The shop we went to swapped out the stem for a shorter one & did a “part-ex” with the saddle, so she got a “higher spec” (more expensive ;)) women’s specific saddle & paid the difference, which even on a short test ride made a huge difference to her comfort.

Whether you fit a “women’s
Whether you fit a “women’s specific” road bike depends on your height

Many taller women may be beyond the largest size of a women’s specific bike and can be fitted to a men’s bike with adjustments made which generally includes women’s specific saddle, narrower bars (i.e. 38cm) and perhaps a slightly shorter stem.

There is also nothing to stop a women fitting a smaller men’s bike, as long as its fitted properly and does not compromise her riding position (often the “reach” and standover height for comfort/safety)

Bear in mind a men’s 52cm bike is generally longer than a women’s 52cm bike

It’s well worth visiting a competent dealer which has an experienced bike fitter when you buy your bike, bearing in mind what you said about having had back surgery.

Trek, Specialized and Giant offer very good women’s specific ranges, and their concept/brand stores will tend to carry a full range, as well as sales staff and bike fitters experienced with selling many bikes to women, which is always helpful

this is my missus with her Specialized Ruby, which she loves riding!

http://ep1.pinkbike.org/p4pb11333899/p4pb11333899.jpg