Which type of bike for me?

Hey all -
I'm shopping for my first road bike - the goal being to be able to bike back and forth to work, etc. I'm super small (4'10, 100lbs), so my options are a little limited.

I wanted to get your opinions on whether I should consider a cyclocross bike and if they even make them small enough (I'd need a 43 cm frame). Since I'm small, I prefer the bikes make specifically for women - do they even make cyclocross bikes for women?

And does anyone have any brand recs for me? I won't be racing, but I'd like a decent quality bike. My budget is $1500-2500.

A little more information - I live in Pittsburgh - so roads/weather can be bad and there are lots of hills. I'm not sure that I'll even bike in poor weather, but thought I'd throw it out there. I'm really a road bike newbie (first time on a road bike was yesterday), so any advice would be great!

Thanks!

Couple of questions:

Why are you thinking a cross bike? Since you say work, I presume you want to be able to carry stuff? Cross bikes tend to have taller standover and longer top tubes than other bikes (generalized here) - and they can be more of a challenge to fit for smaller riders.

If you want to bike in cruddy weather, you'll want fender mounts. Do you want your bike to have this? (this knocks out most mass manufactured "stock" frames). As would a rack if you want that.

Congrats on wanting to get more into riding!

CA

Might I recommend a Luna bicycle?:
http://www.lunacycles.com/index.html
Margo has been building bikes for women for over 12 years now, and she has quite a bit of experience in helping women that are having trouble finding a bike that fits them well- including very petite women such as yourself.
She totally understands women's bike fit problems and I think you can get something from her within your price range. (plus, you get to pick your own color) She also works pretty fast and is very reliable in her communications and time estimates. A real professional.
I was having fit problems on my other bike that just could not be completely solved by tweaking things. But my new Luna bike fits me wonderfully and I am so pleased with it. It's so comfortable to ride, and top quality.
Mine is the "butternut" bike in the middle of the photo gallery:
http://www.lunacycles.com/Gallery.html :D

Lisa-

That's great to know - for some reason, I had assumed that Lunas would all be quite a bit more than that price range....Hmm...something else to contemplate/drool at:)

CA

I always plug Surly Long Haul Truckers, so, here I go again:
$980. Size 42 cm. Fender and rack mounts. Gearing to let you fly up the hills. Slack, comfortable geometry. http://www.surlybikes.com/lht_comp.html

Trek420 test rode one last year, and wrote a review. (she's a couple inches taller than you, and her LBS recomends she get a 46 cm) http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=17451

Surly makes a wonderful sexy stable spry beaut of a cyclocross bike in a size 42 cm, but I think you'll find it too big because of the higher bottom bracket and such. But look at 'em anyway, just cuz they are pretty! :D $930. Comes with a double, but the spider lets you just toss on a granny if you want to make it a triple (that's what I did) http://www.surlybikes.com/crosscheck_comp.html

While we're on Surly bikes - there's always the pacer - can be built up well within that range....

Welcome to TE . . . (from a native Pittsburgher, now living in exile)

I'm 5'1" and I ride a Rodriguez Rainier size S1, which is effectively 43 cm.

Some companies have long-distance test-ride programs, which you may want to take advantage of since it can be challenging to find an LBS that stocks small bikes. Or if they do stock them, they sell rather quickly. I know that Rodriguez has a program and Terry has one, too.

You should also look at the bikes for sale thread on the Terry website.

Also check out Surly Cross Check and Long Haul Trucker.

If you think you'll be out in poor weather, you'll want something that can take fenders, even if you don't put them on initially. And if you're out in the winter, I imagine there will be other issues with keeping your bike clean after riding on a slushy, salted street. I imagine you can run a search for advice in those conditions . . . last time I was on a bike in Pgh I was probably 11, riding my Schwinn Fair Lady, and it was a summertime thing . . .

Good luck!

I think a smaller rider will find the generally tall top tube of a cross bike to be a hindrance. Cross bikes are made to have a taller top tube than a road bike for clearance when shouldering the bike over obstacles. When cross bikes shrink, this dimension often does not shrink enough. Often times a cross frame will be a half-pound or more heavier than a similarly sized road frame because of selection of materials and wall-thickness which determines the strength of a frames. Cross bikes have to deal with stresses a road bike only comes across once in a while.

A compact-frame road bike is the way to go for a pure-road bike for a small rider. At your size, considering a custom frame, although a bit pricey, might make the world of difference. You can also use CompetitiveCyclist.com's sizing calculator, which you will end up doing if you have a custom bike built. This is the best thing we've seen for getting into the ball-park on fit before you go into a shop.

In fact, all of our MTB and Cross frames were fully custom and the girls used this method.

That's just my $.02, and the new road bike based performance hybrids are also a great option.

XO- VK

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

Lisa-

That's great to know - for some reason, I had assumed that Lunas would all be quite a bit more than that price range....

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If you have Luna make a custom frame exactly to your measurements, and then choose expensive components as well, then yes it's above the $2500 price range. But I think Margo sells her non-custom women's geometry frames with different choices of component levels (she calls them component "kits") that would indeed fit within the price range. They are sweet.

Thanks for all your help. I've checked into some of your recommendations - I think most are out of my price range, but we'll see. I'm not really comfortable buying a bike in pieces - is this something that you can do yourself without much bike knowledge or do you take it to your local store?

To answer CA_in_NC (or was it vice versa?), I was considering a cross just to have more versatility. I mountain bike pretty regularly, and the thought of having a bike with which I could cut through the park sounded appealing. I'm definitely having some stand-over issues, so any higher of a bar would not work.

I'll continue to research and test ride, and I'll let you know if I find anything good.

with your budget you could buy two Surly LHT, one for nice weather, and one for rainy/snowy/yucky weather.

just sayin'.... ;)

More bikes, more better!

(oh, and you get them at your bike shop already assembled. Usually if you want a bike your shop doesn't already carry, you order the bike through the LBS and they assemble it and sell it to you at MSRP. They get the profit from the normal mark-up so there is no additional expense to you. Surly's website lists dealers who already carry their bikes, and that might be the way to go if there's one near you. Surly isn't as common as other brands, but they have a bit of a cult following. Terry bikes have the same thing going on, with a list of dealers who can get you the bike, or you can have your shop order one.)

As far as riding through the park: the LHT would do fine. Very fine. My LBS says the frames of the Cross Check and LHT are quite similar and withstand similar forces (cyclocross and loaded touring). They are sturdy dependable beasties and won't faint at the sight of a dirt trail. I've ridden my CC on all kinds of stuff (including no trail at all!) with no complaint.

Any of the bikes designed for loaded touring (which are more likely to fit you in standard sizing than a cyclocross bike) are going to be strong frames with strong wheels and likely have rims to take wider tires (like the 28mm and 32mm I have on a couple of my bikes). All together these make the bike able to handle a variety of surfaces and situations. Fine on trails, grass, dirt, asphalt. The 42 cm LHT comes with 26 inch "mountain bike" wheels, anyway. (the ones I've seen had road slicks on them, but you can ask your shop to put juicy wide MTB knobbies on if you want)

Sturdy All-Rounder Tour-Beasties:
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/road/520/520/ Not sure what size you'd be
http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/bikes/...08aurora.html# Very popular, but I think they don't have small enough sizing
http://www.konaworld.com/08_sutra_w.htm Another popular one, but again a sizing problem.
www.bianchiusa.com Could you ride a 44cm? The Bianchi Volpe comes in 44 cm.

These will at least give you some ideas. Kona made a "Jake 2-4" for a while, a small cyclocross bike with 24 inch wheels. Maybe check eBay or Craig's for one.

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Originally Posted by KnottedYet

Any of the bikes designed for loaded touring (which are more likely to fit you in standard sizing than a cyclocross bike)

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Actually, touring frames come with another set of problems for smaller riders.
Even very small frames, like the 42 LHT tend to be longer (in both the top tube and chainstays) than a comparable performance style frame. Having a longer wheel base helps create a more stable bike when loaded, but for us little people it can mean being way too stretched out, even on the smallest of frames.

As far as cross bikes go, the Jake 24 is kind of tiny, but the Redline Conquest 24 is a bit bigger and a surprisingly good fit for me. REI also has a very reasonably priced "kids" cross bike with 26" wheels (mt bike wheel size - similar to 650's on a road bike) I'm 5' even, short torso, so otherwise I'm on the smallest of stock frame sizes - 44cm with 700c wheels, a 47cm frame with 650c wheels.

First, do not even consider a bike with 700c wheels.

Nice thing about the LHT is that it has 26" wheel in the smaller sizes. The bike will have eyelets & clearance for racks and fenders.

If you have a Trek dealer near you (and who doesn't), also check out the Trek Pilot 2.1 WSD in size 43cm. The Pilot has a somewhat longer top tube than the plain 2.1 WSD, but that is partly mitigated by a slightly less steep seat tube angle and slightly taller head tube. The Pilot also has front & rear eyelets for mounting a rack, which is essential for commuting. Not sure about clearance for fenders.

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Originally Posted by ilima

First, do not even consider a bike with 700c wheels.

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ummmmm - I disagree, don't rule out any bike until you have someone who is qualified really look at you and fit you. By all of the rules I should not fit a bike with 700c wheels, but that's exactly what I fit best. It not only about your height, but your body proportions and how you fit together as a whole. Also the geometry of different brands of bike can be radically different, even if the are the same "size". Don't discount any bike until you've tried it.

A bike that fits someone 4' 10" and uses 700c wheels is going to have major geometry problems.