Women friendly bicycle shops in greater Melbourne

[hfinger]

Hello women:

My 65yo wife has expressed interest in learning to ride a bike. However, the typical grease-stained, reticent*, jock experts found in most bike shops put her off. Do any of you know of a bike shop with women staff, both on the floor and out the back in the workshop? I know she will feel more comfortable talking to another woman who would better empathise with what it is like to be a 65yo beginner. We live in Camberwell, a suburb of Melbourne.

To ensure her experience is positive I would like to get her a bike of the correct size and properly fitted. Budget is up to $800, and she would probably prefer a step-through comfort bike with low gearing like an MTB, say 3 x 7 = 21 gears.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Regards,
Hedley (69yo)

* Or plain downright rude.

[isabella24]

Hi Hedley, i'd love to be able to help you, but I live in Sydney, so I'm not really sure about bike shops in Melbourne. Maybe it's worth traveling to check out a few and you might be able to find a decent one? I'd pick a shop that will let your wife test ride the bikes, this will be important for her to determine how comfy she is on one. Obviously, if you can find a shop with friendly, informative staff, bonus!

In terms of a bike, certainly make sure it is her size and fitted correctly, but just be aware of weight as well. So many 'step through' style womens bikes may seem comfy but weigh an absolute ton, especially if they have front suspension and are made out of steel.

It's just something to be aware of, because a step through might seem like a good idea, but if it is so heavy she doesn't want to ride it, a 'mans style' hybrid, flat bar roady or similar might be a better option and better for her in the long term.
Same goes for cheaper MTBs, they can be very heavy and lots if energy while riding is wasted through the movement of the suspension rather than actually propelling the bike forward. (I'm assuming she is road/bike path riding, if she is going off road, my comments don't apply)

Anyway, it's just a thought. Good luck!

[zebee]

My 81yo mother just got back into cycling after 60 years.

Her bike of choice is a folder!

A number of reasons, one being my Brompton, but size was a biggie too. Folders are small generally and have as low a step over as any stepthrough. She could start with the seat so low she could easily flat foot to scoot and feel safe, and liked that the bars were quite high compared to the seat. As she got more experienced she could get the seat up so she could use the pedals. If she'd got a stepthrough then she'd have had a hard time finding one with that range of seat height and one small enough to fit.

Plus if she gets tired or gets a flat she can call up a taxi and get home or to the bike shop.

So far she's doing well. Took a week of careful work to remember how to do it and feel safe to leave the backyard, but now she's doing 30 and 40 minute rides around her neighbourhood.

So while folders are the sort of thing "real cyclists" never think of, you might want to consider one. Especially if your wife is under 5'4".

Her's is one of the generic Chinese ones, not a name brand like Dahon or Brompton. Came with mudguards and a rack.

The shop she got it from is nowhere near Melbourne but in a country town in WA. I suggest you use google or yellow pages and visit shops yourself first, looking for the bikes they have. I did that for Mum (there are 3 shops in her town) and this one was both closest and had the widest range of non-sporting bikes including step thrus. Plus just chatting to them it was obvious they were very customer focused

(If you should be in Bunbury WA, then Fitzroy Cycles are a damn good place)

Zebee

[hfinger]

Zebee:

Thank you, never considered a folder. Will have a look around.

At the moment a Breezer Uptown 8 LS with Nexus 8 hub gears is at the top of the list.

Hedley

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk

[hfinger]

All:

Thanks for all your help! Actually the bike is pretty sorted, it's the women friendly shop with some empathetic female staff that is the hard bit!

Still hoping,
Hedley

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk

[Blakeylonger]

Total Rush...... JOKES!!! Simon Coffin is a knob.

Velo Cycles, Nicholson St nth fitz, a female friends of mine works there

Commuter Cycles, Prentice St bruns, have looked after many female friends of mine and all have been very happy with the service.

[SuperSix]

Total Rush...... JOKES!!! Simon Coffin is a knob.

That's funny. Wife and I went in to TR and when my wife said she was after some riding gear they couldn't run away quick enough.

[cyclotaur]

Total Rush are going from bad to worse .... big Specialized dealers, as well.

[misterhorsey]

Total Rush...... JOKES!!! Simon Coffin is a knob.

Velo Cycles, Nicholson St nth fitz, a female friends of mine works there

Commuter Cycles, Prentice St bruns, have looked after many female friends of mine and all have been very happy with the service.

+1 People at Commuter are great. velo is also very commuter oriented.

Bikes on Brunswick have some down to earth and friendly people there as well.