wife wants to learn to ride ( what bike)?

Oh so I can blame my sucky skills because I'm on a hardtail? Bullshit. I suck because I suck.

Just for this throwdown against the hardtail I'm going to take your course and skid down everything.

Oh so I can blame my sucky skills because I'm on a hardtail? Bullshit. I suck because I suck.

Just for this throwdown against the hardtail I'm going to take your course and skid down everything.

If this is directed to us….

It is about experiences and "if we want our new friend to have a great experience, here are some recommendations."

This has nothing to do with skills on hardtails? Even if it might be good for our skill development, it might not be the greatest experience on Vancouver's rough trails. There is a reason full suspension bikes are so popular…

We look forward to having you in one of our programs! :)

DB@EB

Thank you so much everyone for your input. Most of what you said confirmed what I what I was thinking.
Years ago remember vividly the horror of trying to my then girlfriend how to whitewater kayak.
I will never do that again.
I am going to giver her a gift certicate to endless bikes , hopefully it will go well. I;d rather buy her a FS bike that she uses than a hardtail she won't.
She already trail runs and does yoga and as we live across from inter rivers bike park we are in a good spot for some easy endurance rides.
If any body has a fs bike size appropriate for a 5'3-4 awesome girl LMK
Cheers
Big Thanks

I went through this process several years back. Unsuccessfully.

My wife (note that my advice would be the same for husband/wife/child) may not have taken to it regardless, but what I think I did wrong mostly was assuming that we'd be riding together, that and not getting her out enough with riders of her own ability.

Like everyone said above, get her out with some folks more her speed while she's learning. Just let her go. If you can find a regular group ride to get in with or something similar that's the ticket.

I think I did all the right things that everyone else mentioned- I built up a super light Juliana from frame up, suspension set very soft; aggressive confidence inspiring tires at low pressure; rode only easy scenic short trails; lots of shopping for fun biking accessories; layed off on the coaching unless asked, etc, etc.

Still no dice. I think there was just no reference for how she was doing. We here are all black belt expert turbo ninja mountain bikers probably without realizing it. And when a beginner has no reference for their progress but their super ninja hubby, it's disheartening and difficult to progress. And not fun.

If this is directed to us….

It is about experiences and "if we want our new friend to have a great experience, here are some recommendations."

This has nothing to do with skills on hardtails? Even if it might be good for our skill development, it might not be the greatest experience on Vancouver's rough trails. There is a reason full suspension bikes are so popular…

We look forward to having you in one of our programs! :)

DB@EB

OK but don't laugh at my hardtail when I'm there ok?
:smokey:

don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but here's something that worked for me: take her somewhere chill and beautiful to ride. the learning curve on the shore is steep - learning to ride here is tough and takes commitment. shuttling the mackenzie river trail and mt. ashland in oregon is a pleasure, easy to find your flow and gain confidence

full boing and endless biking worked for my gf.

few things I've found, ymmv.

your idea of an "easy trail" will be alot different than her idea of an easy trail.

don't be in a hurry; it's going to take hours and hours to ride a trail that might normally be a 20 minute loop. If you aren't the patient type then maybe just sign her up for a group camp somewhere and go shred with your buddies instead.

bring extra water and snacks so you can be a hero when she realizes that a handful of trail mix and a tiny water bottle weren't enough for the 20 minute ride that just-turned-into-a-three-hour-epic. bring a little first aid kit because she'll probably fall over a few times and scrape herself up.

take time to stop, sit on a log and chat to break the ride up a bit. An easy pace for you is going to be a death march for a new rider and she'll probably be happy to just stop and sit and enjoy nature a bit instead of huffing and puffing behind you all ride.

You know your significant other better than anyone, but this one's kinda important. No matter how many times you stop and ask her if she's having a good time and she says she is, always, ALWAYS make sure to look for signs that she isn't getting frustrated and a major level 10 meltdown complete with tears and the whole 9-yards might be just around the corner. If suspected, find the aforementioned log to sit on, have some aforementioned snacks and wait for the situation to diffuse. I've had it happen and trust me, you'll not only hear about how stupid mountain biking is but any and every other problem with your relationship will come out on the side of the trail. Not pretty at all

your idea of an "easy trail" will be alot different than her idea of an easy trail.

don't be in a hurry; it's going to take hours and hours to ride a trail that might normally be a 20 minute loop. If you aren't the patient type then maybe just sign her up for a group camp somewhere and go shred with your buddies instead.

This was/is my experience as well. Very true indeed.

Get her hooked up with mudbunnies, they have taken two girls I introduced to mountain biking from complete beginners to very capable. It's mainly the support at the beginning and then being around other women who rip that makes them progress.

I'm kind of glad my wife doesn't ride bikes. That being said…I've seen several of my friends wives get really into it over the last few years thanks to the mud bunnies group rides.

Have a look at meetup.com. There are biking with a few beginner group ride. That may help get your riding with similar skilled riders. The groups on meet are West Coast mountain bike meet up and Vancouver mountain bike meet up. People there very friendly and helpful.

don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but here's something that worked for me: take her somewhere chill and beautiful to ride. the learning curve on the shore is steep - learning to ride here is tough and takes commitment. shuttling the mackenzie river trail and mt. ashland in oregon is a pleasure, easy to find your flow and gain confidence

Even the Sunshine Coast is a good area. Smooth trails without necessarily needing to climb a ton.

You know your significant other better than anyone, but this one's kinda important. No matter how many times you stop and ask her if she's having a good time and she says she is, always, ALWAYS make sure to look for signs that she isn't getting frustrated and a major level 10 meltdown complete with tears and the whole 9-yards might be just around the corner. If suspected, find the aforementioned log to sit on, have some aforementioned snacks and wait for the situation to diffuse. I've had it happen and trust me, you'll not only hear about how stupid mountain biking is but any and every other problem with your relationship will come out on the side of the trail. Not pretty at all

Wisdom and truth.