Another new bike question...

[hvaclu]

Last summer I started road riding and I bought a used fuji to start. Very ruff ride. I have been looking to upgrade to something a little better and have been trying out giants,fuji, and now a felt.

I am 4'11" and I have a hard time finding bikeshops that carry my size. But today I tried one more shop and they had a a felt fw35 in a 43. So I took off to try it thinking that I probably wouldnt like it cuz Im so stuck on the avail alliance. Well I really liked it alot. It is a left over 2008 and the bikeshop is asking 899. The msrp was 1100. last year. Does this seem like a fair price?

One thing that concerns me is that I dont feel confident with this bike shop being able to fit me. This bikeshop was the only one that didnt set the seat for me. I had to circle back and ask him to raise the seat. This was the first bike that really fit comfortable as far as reach and all. I have never felt comfortable getting into the drops but with this bike it was so easy. So comfortable.

I guess if it was the correct size bike I could pay another shop to do a fitting. I have been looking for a bike for about 2 months now and I really want to make a decision soon. The weather is finally starting to get nice out and I wanna ride. Any advice would greatly be appreciated. I know I ramble on. Im at my wits end trying to pick a bike! Thanks for listening...

[AnnieBikes]

I just bought (in January) a Felt FW3. I rode another bike (bought used) for 5 years and realized that it was never really comfortable. The Felt was the first bike that felt (no pun intended :D ) really good and allowed me to be comfortable in the drops. The shop does NOT do fits so I decided to take it elsewhere. In the meantime, I was riding it alot and put about 500 miles on it so far. I never went to the other shop to get a fit because the bike feels really great, reach is good. I have adjusted the seat a bit at a time. The rest is just great. I think it is the Woman specific design that works so well for me.

Maybe you should get a fit, but you could ride it a while first and then take it somewhere for a real fit if you feel that it is necessary. I just never seemed to need to adjust it further. Maybe you could have a bit longer ride on the bike to see how it is for you. The price seems right for the '08 model.

Good luck. I hope it works out for you. :)

[wildeny]

I'm 5'2", so I also have limited choices when choosing a road bike. I bought Fuji Finest RC XS this Jan. The bikeshop was really helpful in suggesting the bikes. I did my homework in reading about bike fit and checked with numbers suggested by Fit Calculator (http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO). I think you can do the same.

The shop set it for me, roughly, but I did some fine tune by myself (saddle height & offset and handlebar angle).

The only thing I don't like is that the bike comes with a 400mm-wide handlebar. It's OK with me. However I still wanted a narrower handlebar so bought a FSA Omega compact handlebar in 380mm (actually 360mm on the top) to try later.

[cylegoddess]

Someday you might like to look into Orbea.Not only do they make the smallest bikes as usual, but they are a made by a cycling collective!( the Basques, I believe play a large part)
Beautiful.( I like the Onix)