[jfett]

Hello,

I'm looking for a mountain bike for my wife. I'm trying to get her started on mountain biking and I want to take her out on the trails with me. Before I spend a lot of money and buy her a really nice bike, I'd like to buy a cheaper one and let her test it out. If she hates mountain biking then I'm not out a whole bunch of money. So, I have a budget of 200 dollars to buy her a bike, but I don't particularly want to buy a walmart/department store bike. Any advice?

 

[rangeriderdave]

Used , rent or borrow. Let her pick it. Does she want to or you pushing her into it?

 

[Anschutz]

I haven't even picked up my MTB yet so take my advice with a grain of salt but if you up your budget to $350 or so, you can get into something like the Trek 820. If you are stuck at $200 craigslist is your friend. There was a Trek 820 on there for $100 and it looked new. Patience will help you find a good bike for a great deal. Also, bicyclebluebook.com will help to find a fair deal. Good luck in your search.

 

[owensjs]

If you're not sure if she'll even take to trail riding, see if you can rent or borrow one before dropping cash on one. Starting her out on a $200 or less bike might discourage her...especially if you have a much nicer bike yourself. If she's excited about the idea, take some trips to shops...especially shops that have used bikes...and see what she likes.

 

[youngstrom]

Renting/borrowing is a great idea. The 1st real "fight" I had with my wife was on a singletrack trail in Mammoth. She hadn't ridden much in her life and was very uncomfortable with the narrowness of the trail and the trees. She stopped 3 miles in the middle of no where and declared she was done. After I said we have to keep going since we were far out from town she threw my friend's dad's bike off a steep hillside, needless to say that trip ended badly. 20 years latter I have her on paved town paths and rail trails hooked up to a trail-a-bike for our son but there is no way I'm ever going to get her on mountain bike trails (although I have been contemplating a newer bike, her Gary Fisher Wahoo is 18 years old, to improve ride comfort with some suspension and possibly lessen the weight...) A crappy bike won't help convince her it's a fun sport so renting/borrowing a decent bike for an afternoon or 2/3/4 should be very educational and cheaper in the long run (assuming she can get over the sore butt hurdle)

 

[AndrwSwitch]

Rent or borrow. Not much worthwhile at $200. What did you spend on your mountain bike?

 

[jfett]

I bought a GT Karakoram 3.0 on sale for about $400. I like it for now, but I'll be upgrading later on. I hadn't thought of renting. I think I'll do that this weekend. I asked her if she wanted to go with me and she said yes. I pushed a little, but she is interested. I've been keeping my eye out on craigslist for some good deals but haven't come across any yet.