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I’ll assume there is a
I’ll assume there is a Deeside in Scotland then, because in Deeside North Wales (where I work), there isn’t snow in sight.

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April fool or real?
April fool or real? 🙂

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I think £500 is a great
I think £500 is a great starter budget. I don’t have experience of buying used, but as a starter, how about this for £434:

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/giant-avail-4-womens-road-bike-id59979.html

What kind of riding/distances do you intend to do?

This does also raise the question of accessories, which you may or may not have a separate budget for. There’s no need to go mad, but there are a few things you will probably want to buy, some of which you may already own; helmet, gloves, shorts/tights etc. (If you don’t intend to ride for more than an hour or so, you might choose to wear gym leggings or something, rather than buying a cycling-specific item with a padded seat area etc.) Also up for debate are pedals – you might choose to ride in trainers until you are confident in handling the new bike anyway (I did this), so clipless pedals and shoes aren’t something you need to focus on yet unless you want to.

I’d suggest buying in a local bike shop rather than online. This way, the staff will adjust everything to ensure you are comfortable. Don’t be afraid to ask for a test ride (you may want to agree this over the phone to ensure that the bikes are available – just mention entry-level female-specific road bike, listen for the ‘um’s and ‘er’s and you will probably get a feel for whether they have anything.

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Hi, welcome to the forum.
Hi, welcome to the forum. Specialized seem to be well-regarded in this area, they have whole product management teams devoted to womens bikes and kit – unlike some vendors, this does not consist of simply using a condescending shade of pink paint. I believe the ‘Dolce’ is popular.

May I ask what your price range is? (Don’t be shy of telling us that you don’t want to spend megabucks, it might be an expensive sport but we aren’t all loaded! 😀 )

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Bad enough appointing someone
Bad enough appointing someone like this to a Transport and Environment post in any county, but the irony of putting him in a position to organise and influence aspects of the Olympic road race is crackers. I wonder what he makes of the ‘cycling legacy’ stuff?

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I do get Jon Burrage’s point
I do get Jon Burrage’s point – and yes, I know I could buy a comparable Felt from you that would be a very nice bike, and personally that is probably the route I would take rather than Wheelz’ approach, but that’s not to take anything away from him. He’s taken a gamble with the frame source, but honestly, how different will this be to Dolan/Ribble/Planet X, or for that matter, Graham Weigh, of which I have one?

He’s clearly quite confident in his ability to put it together properly, so probably not as bothered about aftersales support as I would be. More power to you Wheelz!

I’d love to see Road.cc take a look at it and give a review, just to see how an impartial observer would take to it.

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I don’t have many
I don’t have many commuter-themed ideas, but here goes:

How about a cycling-themed race map or mountain profile? Print from PC onto thermal inkjet printing paper, iron onto fabric then make up the bag. Guess this may be marketed more as a musette. Do a yellow one, with a Tour de France-themed lining done in the same way, or a pink one (manly pink, a la Rapha!) with a Giro equivalent.

A collage of cycling accident newspaper cuttings scanned in and used the same way, (in my head there is a visible ‘SMIDSY’ text)

Cool little sayings maybe. ‘I love the sound of cleats in the morning’ as per my sig refers to Sunday mornings. When I hear 10 or 20 of us all clipping in, that’s kind of the start of the day. Another one (both of which I like the idea of having printed on my top tube, actually) is ‘when the road goes up, the chat goes down’ which is so true on the club run.

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Manscaping?!
Heavens above,
Manscaping?!

Heavens above, what kind of forum is this?!! :O 😀

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seabass89 wrote:@Simon..
Yeah

seabass89 wrote:

@Simon..

Yeah I’ve read about the sportive things, and they all seem to be common sense..

I’ve EVEN read some articles about how to sit in a group..

Just wondered if anyone had some first-hand experience on nice little starter tips for sitting with other people without getting everyone into the ground! :P

As I said a couple of Sundays ago when I didn’t hold on to the group: “I know the theory, but the practice is a bit more tricky!”

I’m slowing improving, but my initial problem was trusting other riders. Some will point out the potholes, but some don’t. So you end up trying to see them for yourself before you hit them, but that causes you to put more space between you and the wheel in front. This eliminates the benefits of drafting and another rider will see that gap and move into it. The whole process starts again and before you know it you’re off the back of the group.

There is no substitute for the experience of finding a good wheel (right pace, mudguards if it’s raining, calls out potholes etc) and learning to rider closer and closer to it. Also, the other side of the coin; being that good wheel for others. This isn’t all going to come together magically on your first group ride.

I was thinking of entering a sportive or two on my own, because once my clubmates put the hammer down, I’m toast, but I will need my wits about me to ride with just any random group.

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Sounds awesome, but you
Sounds awesome, but you definitely need the fitness, as well as £5k in donations/sponsorship.

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Take the bike to a local shop
Take the bike to a local shop that will assess your fit.

Core stability work rules, and does genuinely benefit.

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bigmel wrote:Very interesting

bigmel wrote:

Very interesting thread. As a club rider (Bicester Millennium) I find some sportives are more like bar room brawls when compared to the discipline and skills of club riding.

Really? I can imagine having pothole problems for example because riders in front aren’t in the habit of calling out obstacles, but what else goes on?

bigmel wrote:

One anecdote I want to recount is when a club-mate was invited to join another club in London. When he turned up he was told he couldn’t go on the ride because he hadn’t shaved his legs . . .

😀 Seriously?! This is a brilliant story… I wonder if they’re fast or just posers?

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Think it’s this that a lad on
Think it’s this that a lad on the club run has. It only surfaced last week when the sun came out. He loves it, but i can’t tell you much more than that.

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Hope you get it sorted. I
Hope you get it sorted. I think there is a marked difference between bike shops that happen to do a bit of online trade because it’s a ‘necessary evil to stay in the black’ and those that embrace it properly, either exclusively (wiggle) or as part of a bigger operation (CRC). Rutland cycles may be great in person, but were a little bemused when I cancelled an order because it hadn’t been dispatched after 48 hours. When going up against wiggle or rapha, that’s just not competitive.

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Hells bells, I now know far
Hells bells, I now know far more about Farky than I wanted to! 😀

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