1st century (maybe), new roadie on a budget
Hello all,
I've been lurking for a couple of weeks now. I owe you all my sincere thanks for all of the wonderful information I've picked up here already, and I hope I am not committed a newbie faux pas by jumping right in with a request for advice.
I have never been a serious cyclist, but I am getting back into it this year. I recently signed up for a century ride in September, so I'd better get back into it soon! I need a new bike, and my budget is about 1,000. (Which came first, me figuring out my budget or learning the price of most entry-level road bikes...:)
I have just started by testing Specialized road bikes. The first one I tried was the Dolce. I had never really ridden a road bike, and it. was. awesome! I did notice my knees were really close to my arms as I was pedaling - not uncomfortable during my test ride, but I did feel a little cramped. Next I tried a Ruby, and fell in love, unfortunately, since it's twice my budget. Maybe it's just sales hype, but I thought the "relaxed geometry" worked well for me. Knees were still fairly close to arms when pedaling, though. Then I tried the same Dolce again with the seat raised a little bit and it felt less cramped. When I say cramped I guess that implies uncomfortable, but it wasn't, it was just weird - is this just me getting used to a road bike? When I asked the salesperson he thought my reaction was normal for someone getting used to a road bike, but he did decide I needed the seat raised. I guess I'd love to hear from you all if this sounds normal.
I am 5'10" with long legs in proportion to my torso, so even though I'm not petite, I thought WSD would be the way to go for me. Maybe I need to try some men's bikes? The salesperson measured me as needing the 57 cm frame for Specialized. I am also going to try the Trek Lexa next, which from what I've heard, is quite "relaxed."
Recommendations or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!