Is there a women specific steel bike?

[Samiad52]

Hi all

Wondering if anyone can recommend a steel bike that would be a good fit for me? I'm buying my first good bike abd researched for ages and tried different styles to see what would be best for me and my lifestyle. Quick recap, I need it for city riding a lot of times with a child seat on back, and then for day rides at weekend just carrying picnic supplies etc.

I keep coming back to drop bars simply because they bring a smile to my face, it just feels good like I am one with the bike. I loved the dolce elite in a 48 cm I think it was, fit like a glove. But aluminium not so durable for my needs so I settles on a surly cross check, was great except felt too stretched out on the 46 cm. apparently surly have longer top tubes than normal. Going down to the 42 cm would make it more of an aggressive position apparently so the bike shop said they would change out the handlebars and stem etc to make more shallow and narrower arm position. Great, except now it is way over budget, around $1,750 when I was looking to top out at $1,350.

So is there any other steel bike i could try that is going to come with a better fit, like the dolce elite? I've heard the bianchi volpe may be shorter and narrower. Any experiences with the two? Or any other recommendations?

Any advice is much much appreciated, I really thought I had finally found the right bike for my needs with the cross check and now I feel I have to start the search again, so a little push in the right direction would be great :)
Thanks!

[Eden]

Jamis makes several steel bikes in WSD.

[mzone]

This is not WSD specific, but it may fit your needs. I've been checking it out as a possible loaded touring bike. Unfortunately I don't think it will carry quite enough weight for me, or I'd drop my commuter and ride this the majority of the time. It's a great multi-purpose, kind of a retro-look bike.

http://allcitycycles.com/bikes/space_horse

[Catrin]

The Long Haul Trucker isn't women specific, but that being said, even with my long legs and short arms I've had an easier time fitting a non-WSD frame to me than I've had with WSD. Don't be afraid to test ride/consider as many bikes as possible. You can be surprised what might wind up working for you! Jamis is also a good recommendation.

[ZenBiker]

See if you can find a Salsa Vaya to test ride too. It's right around your top end price but if you like it you could probably find last year's model going for a little less. I got one last year to use as my commuter bike and love it. Shops that carry Surly will sometimes have Salsas as well.

Edited to add: the Vaya 3 is the one that's close to your price range. The Vaya 2 is the more expensive version.

[Kernyl]

Jamis Quest. To die for.

[thekarens]

Jamis Quest. To die for.

My personal favorite, but I might be biased :-)

[antimony]

Bianchis do have comparatively short top tubes -- definitely go try the Volpe. I used to have a Bianchi Brava that never fit me, and it was only finding out that I am long-torsoed and short legged -- even if I were a dude that'd be true -- that made the constant fit fussing make sense. If they still make the Brava, try that, too.