Sml lady, sml town-bike shopping

[krispns]

I need some assistance from road bikers. I'm 5' tall and live in a Florida town with only 3-4 small bike shops. They all carry different brands. I want a road bike to ride which I will also be using for triathlons. I am contemplating a Cervelo Soloist on the high end, a Bianchi Eros Donna or a Trek WSD. The problem is most bike shops don't have a size that fits me and will have to order it. So test riding is difficult. One shop knew of someone that had Cervelo in my size and was going to have the customer bring it in so I can test ride it. The Bianchi that I test rode was a Eros, but not the Donna and the other shop doesn't have a Trek that fits for me to test ride.

Any thoughts? The more I research bikes on the internet the more confused and unsure I am about my potential purchase. Please help.

Thanks.

Kris

[Adventure Girl]

Wow. That's a tough one. The geometry on every bike is different. Being able to test ride is really important. You say that your town only has a few bike shops, but what about neighboring towns? How far would you have to drive to the next big town with more selection? It might be worth it.

I'm small, too (just under 5'). My bike shop caters mostly to mountain bikers (about 70% off road / 30% road). So they had lots of mountain bikes in stock for me to test. But when I bought my road bike, they didn't have anything close. Their Trek sales rep was able to find a 47cm frame for me to try. It didn't have the same components as my bike, but I could at least test fit the frame.

I'd suggest you do the research online (or in catalogs, etc). But then try to find a shop that has bikes you can test ride. You may have to make some phone calls and drive a little, but it doesn't look like you have much of a choice.

Good luck!

[WileyGrrl]

Also, would any of the shops do a Fit-Kit for you, so you could have a better idea of a starting point, size-wise? I can personally attest that the Fit-Kit results are only a guideline, not a written-in-stone measurement, but it helps to know where to begin.

I also second the idea of being willing to travel to another town--well worth the time/effort when you're contemplating spending the amount of money it will take to get the bike you want.
--WG