Another new bike question...

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...

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. :)

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. 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.

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)