Looking to buy a road bike in Los Angeles area, help?

[Brigitte031]

I've never ridden a road bike but I did make the progression from a very inexpensive mountain bike to a hybrid and so far love riding. I now want to upgrade to something more light-weight and faster... a road bike, basically. As I've never ridden a road bike I am looking for something entry-level (maybe $1k, not too much more). The problem is that I just recently moved from Santa Barbara (bike central) to the 562 area of Los Angeles and I have no clue where to buy a road bike at a shop that sells women's road bikes to test out. I don't want to buy a road bike blind, special order, without ever test riding it. I'm also only 5 feet so I'd probably need a 43 sized bike... which makes it even harder!

Would anyone be able to recommend a bike shop in the Los Angeles area that sells really small WSD road bikes? Also, I'd lovelovelove personal recommendations for an entry-level (maybe alum frame, a few carbon parts).

[Bluetree]

Bad news about Downey is that it is not a hotbed of bike shops. Good news is that you are central to a lot of nearby cycling areas and close to a major river route that can take you as far north as the Foothills or all the way down to Long Beach.

For smaller bikes, I suggest you try out the Spec and Trek shops first. The larger shops might have a 44 to test out. Even if their entry level models may not be available, the geometries are pretty standard among all models. For Spec shops, PV Bikes (Palos Verdes), Cynergy (Santa Monica) and Surf City Cyclery (Huntington Beach) are your closest bets. I've dealt with the management of all three and they're all recommended. Trek does not have a lot of distributers in the L.A. area, but you might try Jax in Huntington Beach. Helen's in Santa Monica is a Trek dealer, but that is only a tiny fraction of their stock so they are limited. Call first and see if they have small bikes to test.

There are a ton of bike shops on the Westside (I can name about 20 off the top of my head) and there is a dealer for just about any brand out there. But most are boutiques and do not have the range/space to have small frames in stock.

[Koronin]

I'm also 5ft. I currently have a 47cm Trek 2000 men's bike. It's at the very limit of what I can fit. My next bike will most likely be a 47cm Trek Madone, probably a WSD due to my height. Although I personally think if they'd make men's bikes small enough I'd be better off with a men's bike as I have short legs and a longer torso. Trek and Specialized for me are the only two companies I've found that make bikes I can ride. Trek's 47 is pretty similar to Specialized's 44cm.
Trek Lexa lines and Specialized Dolce lines are what you should look at.
As for California, I have no idea, but look up who sells those two lines and start there. I personally will be driving either two hours to Raleigh or 5 hours to Charlotte when I'm ready to buy my next Trek, even though we have a local Trek dealer. I just refuse to buy a bike from them. They want to push Cannondale, even though I can't ride them. I will buy other stuff form them, just not bikes. I also won't even go into the other Trek stores that are closer than Raleigh as they are just not friendly and one in Raleigh I won't go to again either. They wanted to force a 43 at me, when I can ride a 47. Plus I want a bike with 700 wheels/tires and 43s come with 650 tires/wheels.
I did get to test a Trek Lexa while I was in Charlotte a couple of months ago and we got the fit perfect without it being at an extreme range like my current bike is.

[Brigitte031]

Thanks so much for all the help so far!!

I'm definitely going to try out those shops you mentioned, Bluetree. I'll definitely call first and ask about what they're carrying right now. Yeah, I love that river route! I'm trying to do longer distance but with a hybrid I'm just not getting the full extent of what I want from a ride.

I'll try asking about a 47 man's but I have a feeling it just wouldn't fit properly... I'd probably have no clearance or be a bit uncomfortable. But thanks for your recommendation, Koronin. I'll ask to try them out anyway if in case I get lucky! And wow, that's pretty far to travel but that shows your dedication to bikes, lol.

Thanks for the brand recommendations Muirenn. I've never heard of Jamis or Specialized Dolce before. I've mostly looked into Trek and Cannondale. Good to explore all options!

[purdyd]

I'll try asking about a 47 man's but I have a feeling it just wouldn't fit properly... I'd probably have no clearance or be a bit uncomfortable. But thanks for your recommendation, Koronin. I'll ask to try them out anyway if in case I get lucky! And wow, that's pretty far to travel but that shows your dedication to bikes, lol.

Thanks for the brand recommendations Muirenn. I've never heard of Jamis or Specialized Dolce before. I've mostly looked into Trek and Cannondale. Good to explore all options!

after having gone through this with my wife of similar stature

the specialized dolce (Ruby in Carbon) 44cm has the lowest standover height (clearance) of any bike with normal sized (700c) wheels.

if you can't fit that, the Trek Lexa SLX 43cm with 650c wheels has the lowest standover height of any major manufacturer's road bike

if you have clearance on the Lexa 47cm Trek, than you can fit just about any manufacturers smallest frame and Canondale, Felt, Giant, etc. all have great bikes you should try out that might offer a better price point

If I were you I would call up surfcity cyclery (specialized dealer) and ask them if they have a 44cm Dolce or Ruby (basically the same frame) you can try out.

good luck!

[Koronin]

purdyd, that is not exactly true. For me it is not true, for others it might be. I can stand over a Lexa 47cm with flat feet, however no clearance. I cannot stand over a Canondale or Giant with my feet flat on the ground. I can only stand over them on my tip toes with no clearance. They are measured differently and they are a taller bike. Although as I stated I do have short legs with a longer torso which is apparently opposite to what many women have.

Brigitte, it can't hurt to ask. We moved last year from Charlotte and we both really liked our Trek LBS there. They are great to deal with. They also sell Cervelo, which I drool over every time we're there. They also keep Madone's in stock, although they didn't have a 47cm when we were there last or they would have let me test ride it.