[Spofferoonie]

My wife has/had a serious knee problem which means she pretty much has to have a step through frame but most of the frames that are available seem to be somewhat sturdy to say the least.

She’s got a Liv at the moment, which is fine, but if she wants to upgrade so she can go further, is there anything out there which is at least a little more lightweight but still flat handlebars and a triple? She needs the gear ratio and isn’t a weekend warrior, just likes having a weekly spin that’s increased in distance over the year or so she’s had the Liv.

Topic

[Anonymous]

Spofferoonie wrote:

 

She’s got an Alight which is perfectly fine but whenever I pick it up to hand it over to her, I almost put my back out as I lift my carbon one with my little finger.

Wheels and pedals already changed (and seatpost, tyres and saddle). I’ll take a look at the suggestions.

Thank you!

Ah, the Alight isn’t a step through frame, anyways, if she isn’t needing to have a true stepthrough frame then that opens your options much more and to seeking out lighter off the peg options (see above) Here’s something in the same mould https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Vita-Elite-CARBON-FIBRE-Small-ladies-hybrid-bike/133076157640?epid=1829794346&hash=item1efbf504c8:g:9-UAAOSwHC1c-S7l

Luck finding something.

[matthewn5]

My wife also wanted a step

My wife also wanted a step-through frame, so I found a step-through carbon touring frame from High On Bikes, would have been about 7 years ago, anyway, with flat bars and 105 it built up to about 8.5kg, could probably go lighter if I’d spent more:

She’d never had a bike anything like as light as this and is very happy with it.

[Anonymous]

Deeferdonk wrote:

Would a brompton be too much of an oddball?

The low horizontal crossbar/frame makes mounting/dismounting a doddle.

 

I’ve often thought about getting a Brompton for my wife to use occasionally (she doesn’t own a cycle), it wouldn’t take up a lot of storage space and I could pinch it if I was ever going anywhere on the train 😀

[Deeferdonk]

Would a brompton be too much

Would a brompton be too much of an oddball?

The low horizontal crossbar/frame makes mounting/dismounting a doddle.

 

[Simon E]

Spofferoonie wrote:

She’d be mortified if I told her it was for older riders but possibly. Thank you.

That’s only the marketing angle. Once you’re past the brochure blurb I don’t see why they shouldn’t be suitable for riders of any age. They look pretty darn good to me.

Some grown-ups insist on riding BMX bikes. Matt Richardson set an Hour record and rode up Mont Ventoux, the Stelvio and Alpe d’Huez on a Raleigh Chopper while Isla’s own staff do an annual pre-Christmas TT around the HQ on a tiny Cnoc (FB pics).

[Spofferoonie]

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

Which model of Liv does she have now, is it the Liv Flourish?

How tall is she, does she prefer a more upright position or is she okay with a slightly ‘sportier’ position, what kind of step over height are we talking about, 20/22/24″ more? 

Also, how much does the current bike weigh and how much weight ‘loss’ do you think would make a difference and what is your budget?

There are a few routes you can go down.

Firstly, upgrade what you have, better/lighter wheels and tyres, bars, seatpost etc, better tyres with tyres pumped to the correct pressures will give her free speed/extra distance for same effort. Rigid steel bead tyres with stiff rubber are an absolute world away from a set of folding tyres with a softer compound, decent spec wheels will again make a significant difference.

Cranks, if she wants low gears, great, but a triple usually equals more weight, especially low end stuff, shed some mre weight by getting shot of what’s on there and fitting something like a stronglight Impact or even lighter a vintage stronglight 80/100 triple, these are very lightweight (c.620g for a 48/36/28 excluding crank bolts)

Even the pedals you can save some weight

This is 13.6kg all in https://www.bikester.co.uk/diamant-elan-touring-bike-cradle-red-874071.html you can shed a lot of weight off that still

Dawes Karakum low step, the 40cm/16″ frame might be enough to get her leg over https://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3978/DAWES-Karakum-Low-Step-2019, they’re not really light but have scope to reduce weight.

Other options are to find a Ladies R531 and build up for example https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stunning-Coventry-Eagle-ladies-Vintage-Bike-Reynolds-531-Black/333178763611?hash=item4d9300795b:g:EwMAAOSwz4xcyezp

 

 

She’s got an Alight which is perfectly fine but whenever I pick it up to hand it over to her, I almost put my back out as I lift my carbon one with my little finger.

Wheels and pedals already changed (and seatpost, tyres and saddle). I’ll take a look at the suggestions.

Thank you!

[Spofferoonie]

Simon E wrote:

Would the Islabikes Joni or Janis fit the bill?

https://road.cc/offroad/content/news/islabikes-launches-new-icons-range-for-older-riders-3203

She’d be mortified if I told her it was for older riders but possibly. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Which model of Liv does she

Which model of Liv does she have now, is it the Liv Flourish?

How tall is she, does she prefer a more upright position or is she okay with a slightly ‘sportier’ position, what kind of step over height are we talking about, 20/22/24″ more? 

Also, how much does the current bike weigh and how much weight ‘loss’ do you think would make a difference and what is your budget?

There are a few routes you can go down.

Firstly, upgrade what you have, better/lighter wheels and tyres, bars, seatpost etc, better tyres with tyres pumped to the correct pressures will give her free speed/extra distance for same effort. Rigid steel bead tyres with stiff rubber are an absolute world away from a set of folding tyres with a softer compound, decent spec wheels will again make a significant difference.

Cranks, if she wants low gears, great, but a triple usually equals more weight, especially low end stuff, shed some mre weight by getting shot of what’s on there and fitting something like a stronglight Impact or even lighter a vintage stronglight 80/100 triple, these are very lightweight (c.620g for a 48/36/28 excluding crank bolts)

Even the pedals you can save some weight

This is 13.6kg all in https://www.bikester.co.uk/diamant-elan-touring-bike-cradle-red-874071.html you can shed a lot of weight off that still

Dawes Karakum low step, the 40cm/16″ frame might be enough to get her leg over https://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3978/DAWES-Karakum-Low-Step-2019, they’re not really light but have scope to reduce weight.

Other options are to find a Ladies R531 and build up for example https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stunning-Coventry-Eagle-ladies-Vintage-Bike-Reynolds-531-Black/333178763611?hash=item4d9300795b:g:EwMAAOSwz4xcyezp

 

 

[Simon E]

Would the Islabikes Joni or

Would the Islabikes Joni or Janis fit the bill?

https://road.cc/offroad/content/news/islabikes-launches-new-icons-range-for-older-riders-3203

[Spofferoonie]

allanj wrote:

This sort of thing?:

https://www.cube.eu/uk/2019/bikes/road/road-cyclocross/sl-road/cube-sl-road-pro-iridiumnred-2019-trapeze/

 

Probably not low enough I’m afraid

[allanj]

This sort of thing?:

This sort of thing?:

https://www.cube.eu/uk/2019/bikes/road/road-cyclocross/sl-road/cube-sl-road-pro-iridiumnred-2019-trapeze/

[Author]

Replies