Dropped in to Wooly’s Wheels today to pick up Gina’s new Tarmac SL8 Expert in Satin Champagne / Black Pearl. Such a lovely colour!

Gina’s been meaning to buy a bike for some time now and I’ve spent hours on the lookout over the past few months. It wasn’t until recently that her acupuncturist suggested she do more cardio and that kinda sped up the decision making.

At 149cm Gina is super tiny. You could make the argument that a flat bar road bike, or even a mountain bike would be the best place for someone new to riding to start, but Gina’s not completely new to riding, and hey everyone in our group rides a road bike so it was always going to be a road bike (Gina’s yoga background should mean she’s more than flexible enough too).

Turns out a lot of bike brands don’t make road bikes in size 44. Liv (made by Giant) have a fair few models in the right size but Gina didn’t like the look of any of them, and hey! IMHO that’s a totally legitimate reason to not buy a bike. If it’s beautiful (to her) she’ll be motivated to ride it more.

I was on the constant lookout for a size 44 bike on Marketplace, and whilst I did spot a couple over the past few months, they were mostly almost 5-10 years old, full mechanical and again, not a bike she would want to ride.

A few weeks ago a size 44 Tarmac SL8 popped up as “in stock”. We spent a week, or maybe 2 weeks deliberating. I had no doubt that it would be the only one in the country (the shop ended up confirming this), but I was also of the mindset that if it sells, it’s not meant to be.

One day last week Gina was feeling abundant, so BAM! We walked in to Wooly’s Wheels and got it done.

I’ve taken the liberty of removing the dork disc and some warning stickers. Bike weighs in at 7.18kg’s without pedals and a bottle cage (couldn’t help myself!). Wouldn’t be hard to knock some weight off of it, but nope, no mods until she gets some pedal time in (and makes the move to clipless pedals!).

Saw it, had to have it.

My new helmet! It looks awesome, comes with a rear light too. Now I just have to go fast enough for air to flow through.

Wasn’t expecting it, but I’ll take it!