Contessa

[hid558]

Liza: I am new to the forum and was checking out the old threads found out you have a Scott Contessa. Whats your opinion on this bike. Is it fast? Is it stiff, absords road vibrations?
I'm 4' 11" with a 27.5 inseam. can girls who are the same height tell me what you are riding?

[VeloVT]

I am very, very happy with it. There are several bikes in the "Contessa" line, btw, with quite different frames and components. I have the Contessa CR1 Pro.

It is not the lightest bike in the stock build (I think it's around 17lbs in M), but the frame itself is quite light -- I think a good part of the weight is wheels and components (it comes with Mavic Ksyrium Equipes, which are sturdy but not light).

It is crazy, crazy stiff. It really jumps when you sprint and it climbs exceptionally well. My BF has a Madone 5.2 (it's 2007, before the redesign and before the line became enormous and confusing, and it has OCLV carbon), and in comparison my bike feels a little stiffer and faster, even though the OCLV carbon is very nice. We test rode a lot of bikes when he was looking, and our favorite by a long shot was the Cervelo R3 (ended up being more than he wanted to spend though). The Scott, though not as light, has a similar feel -- very fast acceleration, lively frame.

The carbon is very smooth and lively, but it is so stiff that extremely rough pavement or gravel will rattle your teeth. It will damp road vibrations, but you really feel bumps and pavement flaws. I have ridden carbon bikes (and steel bikes, actually) that have a much softer ride... so the stiffness is a trade off.

It's very quick handling. Even with a 120mm stem, my bike feels a bit twitchier than bf's Madone.

Hope that helps :). I'm happy to answer specific questions too.

[MartianDestiny]

I'm 4'11" and I think have a slightly longer inseam than you. This means I can happily ride some 47-49cm frames that most would consider too big for us sub-5' gals.

My nice bike is a Wilier Izoard. Super light, super stiff, crazy fast. Absorbs chatter well enough, but you still feel the road especially when you hit something.

I was quite impressed with the Scott bike I test rode as well (it was the men's version of the Contessa Race) and it came in second in my bike quest. I'd say it's got a little less get up and go and a little more comfort (better with the bumps). It's still got plenty of "go", more than many of it's competitors; the Wilier will just drop you off the back end and take off without you if you aren't careful though (which I think is fun)!

I also have a Giant OCR3w that I commute on and am quite happy with for that purpose. The more sloping top tube gives me more clearance than the Wilier, which may be an issue for you. Giant's carbon offerings might be worth looking at if the more traditional (straight horizontal) geometries aren't giving you the standover (Specialized is good for standover as well and the Ruby is a fun little bike).