Hi everyone - I apologize now for the length of this posting.
I am brand new to the group - and so glad to have found it. Not sure how it is elsewhere, but here in the Princeton, NJ area - I am finding the local cycle scene and LBS's to be completely male saturated, so it is good to finally get some female opinions.
Question: Why is it that with everything else in the world, men will loudly proclaim how strange, different, feminine, fragile, etc, etc, etc us women are....yet when I am trying to find a bike that doesn't make me feel like I am stretched out, or can't press/reach the brakes, or my handlebars are too wide, or my saddle is just plain KILLING ME.....the guys at the LBS, AND my boyfriend tell me I am just being too picky, and that a guy's bike is fine for me?
Ok- maybe I was just venting a little there, but I thought I was supposed to enjoy this. The thing is, it's easier to just ride the damn- too-big bike than to argue with him about it.

However, enough is enough, and I am about to buy my first road bike after a riding a very ill-fitting hand-me-down mountain bike of my boyfriend's and hurting my back as a result.

My request from you all is such: To help my search for the perfect bike for me, I really need to get some good opinions on Women's Specific road bikes. I went to 4 bike shops within about 50 miles - and the selection was crap. 3 of them all had the same bike - a Specialized Dolce, and only 1 of those had 1 other option - a 2003 Lemond (which I found too rigid for me - plus....a 2003? have they had it that long?)
The last shop - the closest to my house, which is a plus...carries the GIANT OCR 1 w, and a Cannondale. Now the guy there was soooo much more helpful than anywhere else, so I am afraid I am going to be biased to those 2 brands because of that.
I really want to be sure I get a good bike, and most of the reviews out there are on guy's bikes.

Here's another point to mention. While the first 3 bike shops had me stand over the bikes, and figured me for a 54 (I am about 5'6") - I still felt like I was reaching, and had a hard time braking. The last shop (my bias) put me on a GIANT size S which I think is around a 50, and it turned out even that was too big for my reach. Apparently I have long legs and short arms. Which definitely explains how extremely uncomfortable I was on my bf's old bike.
So even though my height may say 54, my arms say 48 - and after the guy adjusted the seat, handlebars, etc - it felt a lot different.

Alright - that's it ladies. Again apologies for the length, but I had to get a lot off my chest. Next come the apparel questions.
Help????

cheri