New to biking-in need of advice!

Hi everyone,
Wondering which bike to purchase-this is my first road bike, and the first bike I've purchased in about 12 years. I've looked at dozens and am in need of a female biker's opinion! I'm looking for a bike that I can commute from home to school and work. School is about 25 miles from home, work is about 5 miles. Once I'm in better shape I want to do races (probably triathalons); I used to run competitively both in high school and my first year in college and I miss training and racing.
The bikes I've looked at and really liked are: Fuji-The Finest 1.0 (2006 model), LeMond Buenos Aires and LeMond Tourmalet. I've also looked at Giant, Trek and Specialized and they didn't seem to fit me as well and weren't as great of deals. I'm going to look at a few Bianchi's next week. One thing that concerns me is that although I'm pretty short (5'2'') I have a really long torso and short legs-it's been a little challenging to get a bike to fit.
I'm really excited about investing in my health and looking forward to not having to buy gas!!! I want a bike that I'm not going to look back in 6 months and wish I had spent a little more to get nicer components/frame etc. I would like to stay under the $1700 mark though.
Any thoughts/recommendations? I'd appreciate any advice.
Thanks:)

Rose17, have you found a local bike shop that you can trust?
you intuitively hit the first nail on the head: fit!
the bikes you are looking at are all good bikes. the question really comes down to fit. If the shop offers a fitting and is wiling to put the cost of the fitting towards the purchase of a new bike--it is well worth it!


Also, if you haven't ridden in a while: factor into the cost of the bike the following items: helmet, a good lock, ankle reflectors and a rear blinky light (for commuting), a messenger bag (can get them used--sometimes posted here, or your local craigslist or e-bay) or backpack.

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One thing that concerns me is that although I'm pretty short (5'2'') I have a really long torso and short legs-it's been a little challenging to get a bike to fit.

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I have the same issue, except that I'm a little taller (5'4"ish). After trying out a lot of different bikes, I ended up with a LeMond--the Reno...partly price (I wanted to keep the sticker price under a thousand) and partly the color scheme. It was the one whose geometry seemed to work the best for me, because in most of the other ones finding a long enough top tube to accomodate my torso length and reach started pushing me into sketchy territory on standover height. Ultimately, I chose the bike that was the most comfortable straight off the shop floor and just accepted that there would probably need to be some tweaks done along the way to make it "right"...it was also the bike I had the most fun on during my test ride, taking it *much* further than the rest of them without even realizing it because it just felt better, so I wasn't fidgeting as much on it trying to find a comfortable position for my arms.

Then again, I've only had the bike for a week, so I don't really know anything. LOL. :D

Stella, the only fitting that has occured at any of the local bike shops has been me standing over bikes to see if I have clearance and then actually getting on the bike to see how it feels. All the employees have been male and seem to only be looking at the amount of money I want to spend...
The Buenos Aires is a 45 (which my boyfriend thinks is too small for me) but it was a really good deal (1700 on sale from nearly 2500) for the components, so the salesman was really pushing it. I think it was because that was the only size he had it in. I've tried other sizes in other bikes (47, 48and 49) which seem to also fit me so I'm hesitant because of the size even though I know its a really nice bike.
It's been hard coordinating schedules with my boyfriend to look for bikes (he just got into road biking last year and before that was an avid mountain biker) and it seems that when I go look alone, I don't get the same service...
What do I look for in a good fit? When I'm pedaling, how far should my knees come up-should they be even with my hips, or should they come up higher or lower? The guys have pretty much told me that if it feels comfortable, it fits. I haven't been impressed with anyone's service yet. I'm driving a bit further on Wednesday to look at some other bikes, and this guy has actually been pretty nice on the phone-he's staying open late for me (and I'm taking the BF with) so perhaps I'll find a bike I'll really love!
And the 1700 is just for the bike-I've got money set aside for the biking apparel and other accessories I still need.

Dex, is the Reno a women's or men's design? I would definately try something I haven't already been shown! Were there other brands that also seemed to fit you more comfortably right away? I haven't actually gotten to ride any of them outside yet-it snowed quite a bit last week so they just put them on a trainer in the shop. Hopefully this week the weather will be improved-I'm getting anxious to make a purchase and start riding!
It's nice to know I'm not the only woman with short legs and a long torso!!!

rose--where in Wisconsin are you located? If you're spending that much on a bike, the salesperson should do some preliminary work. Ask them. Note: there is one LBS (a large-ish local chain) in the Milwaukee that you have to get the right salesperson. They have some top notch fitters and <sigh>some sales people that would like to first demonstrate to you the "wonders of the vanity mirror"</sigh>.

Hey rose - I just picked up my first road bike, a Giant OCR3. I LOVE IT! And the bike shop spent almost an hour fitting me to the bike, it is definitely worth finding a shop who knows what they're doing! I've been out on a few rides so far and it's the most comfortable I've EVER been on a bike.

Plus, it goes reallllly fast!:D

Regardless of your body shape/size, they should be able to custom fit the bike to your specifications. There is so much to choose from though! Doing your homework does pay off though. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by rose17

Dex, is the Reno a women's or men's design? I would definately try something I haven't already been shown! Were there other brands that also seemed to fit you more comfortably right away?

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My Reno is of the "regular" (i.e. not women's) variety. The long torso/reach thing meant that for me, women's specific designs were all wrong. (That actually bummed me out a little, because I went into my bike shopping thinking that's what I was going to get.) You mentioned that you looked at the Tourmalet. The frame geometry is the same on the Reno, it's just the component set (and paint color) that's different.

Are you mostly being put on women's bikes? If so, I would definitely try some others, as well.

As for other bikes that were fairly comfortable for me, one was the Bianchi Volpe (which I may still get if I decide I want to tour with friends or commute by bike sometime in the future) and the other was a Raleigh Cadent 3.0.

One of the things I loved about the person at the bike shop I ended up buying from was that we didn't even talk about price until we had figured out roughly what size bike I was going to need. We talked about what kind of riding I wanted to do, what kind of personality/temperment I have, and he took a few measurements. After that, he started pulling bikes down, putting me on them, making little adjustments and sent me out the door to ride. It was only after figuring out what I needed in a bike that he started walking me through the price breakdowns and we focused in on a couple of models in my price range. In fact, I think every bike he put me on to work out the size thing was the bottom entry level model in all of their lines, because he wanted to initially focus on fit before we got into bike specifics.