Test riding in your size

I think that I'm going to have to pull the trigger on a new road bike without actually test riding the one I buy. I'm looking at "boutique"/"european-brand" road bikes that I can find with a Campagnolo build and they just don't have them on the floor to test ride in my size, even with SRAM or Shimano. I KNOW what I want as far as geometry (aggressive), drive train (Campy Chorus 11 - I don't have to test ride with this, though!!), and frame material (carbon). What is the next logical step for a short female cyclist willing to fork over some cash for a good ride? There is a shop that will let me put down a deposit on, say, a Wilier, and if I don't like it when it's built, I can use that deposit toward a Pinarello, Scott, Ridley, or even if I want to go custom, a Moots... they may carry other brands, but not sure which. Nothing, though will be in my size to test ride. Any advice? I am SOOO happy riding my Klein. I'm wondering if I should just save my money and avoid a headache. :)

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Originally Posted by velo

I am SOOO happy riding my Klein.

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Not to sound flippant but EVERY bike you mention rides so much better than an old Klein. It would be hard to make a mistake.
You know what your fit is because you love the fit of your Klein. Just have the shop find out which frame matches the fit of your Klein and go for it.
The hard part is when you DON'T have a bike you love, because then you take a risk of getting a bike that does not fit.

Pinarello, IMO is head and shoulders above the rest of the offerings you list.

I've recently heard quite a few horror stories around this type of situation. Can you travel to another city & at least ride the bike - even if it isn't your size - to judge the stiffness, etc? C-Chorus is awesome, BTW.

I have been trying to find someplace within driving distance to test ride any of these and about 3 hours away is closest - and the dealers are in opposite directions for the different brands they carry. I haven't found an Orbea or Cervelo dealer close by. I like that this one place has many options, so if one doesn't work out for me, I can select another without losing my deposit. I have time before making any decisions - all winter, really. This will probably be the last bike like this that I buy, so I want something that makes me happy for a long time. I don't presume to say that any of these bikes are "better" than my "old" Klein... Gary Klein was way ahead of his time with aluminum design and in the industry, they are still considered fine machines. I paid nearly what my current budget is for that custom build with Campy Chorus and while it rides *differently* than carbon bikes, so far I haven't ridden a carbon bike that I would say is definitively *better*. I think that's why we are often not happy owning just one bike - because they are different. It's why I keep my steel Lemond and why I have a hybrid, etc. I'm interested in different and if I'm going to buy and ride another aggressive bike, I better do it now... not getting any younger!! :p

Sounds like those that are offering their opinion say go for it even if I can't ride it. That's probably what I'll have to do if I can't find any to ride in my size over the next few months. Thanks!!

How about a look at CompetitiveCyclist.com? They carry Orbea, Pinarello, Willier and Willier. They have a fit guide and can sell the frames only (you could transplant the part from another bike...).

The last bike you might buy? Oh, we know better in this forum. Besides, there is Rule # 12. :D

Ha! Not *last* bike... last bike like this one (aggressive road bike). And I could totally be off the mark on that, too. I just figure when I hit my 50's, I'll be wanting something more comfortable. Could be wrong!

I have been looking online. If I were more mechanical, I would totally build my own bike. As it is, I'm not ruling out buying a complete bike. I don't have any spare parts to transplant, though.

Given how important riding is to you I would make the drives to try out some of the bikes you are interested in. I even drove three hours just to try a hybrid. :)

The thing about driving around is that it is hard to compare -- sometimes you end up in a dense urban area, where it is hard to ride in traffic, and then you more attention to not becoming road kill than to how the bike feels. So my dubious thinking was: get the frame, take it to your LBS to put your parts one (the components from one of your current bikes). Test it. Like it? Get a build kit --that site also sells build kits... look under "components". Shipping the frame is cheaper than shipping the entire bike. You could even get more than one frame at a time... What is neat is that you would test it on grounds you know, with wheels and gear you are already familiar with. At that point, you can focus on just the frame qualities.

I definitely missed the "like this" part of a "bike like this". My apologies. The universe makes sense again. :D

The idea of taking the dimensions of your existing bike and finding a new one with the same dimensions makes sense.
If you can find a Look dealer, I'm pretty sure all Look models are available as frames only. I don't know how the racier ones feel, but I absolutely love my 566. It feels like it wants to go fast, so I find myself riding much longer and harder that I otherwise would, yet it's extremely comfortable over our cracked and broken roads.

http://road.cc/content/news/62694-eddy-merckxs-emx-525

Here's your bike.;) EMX 525, Campy Record 11.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

Jeeze Red, how much is that thing? Gorgeous, though.

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The EMX 5 frameset is $3800, so not bad. That particular bike I linked to is Eddy's, so it's probably priceless.

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Originally Posted by redrhodie

http://road.cc/content/news/62694-eddy-merckxs-emx-525

Here's your bike.;) EMX 525, Campy Record 11.

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Love the bell!

Thank you all for your insight. Both the fanciful (Merckx' bike ;)) and the rest. I don't have time to reply to all, but I appreciate the time you've taken to help me think this through. I'm trying to see through the marketing and look to the next real cycling investment I'll make. Again thank you, and I will keep you posted over the next few weeks as I try to figure out what will be my next ride.