Did some test riding today!

[Jolt]

I'm looking for a road bike that actually fits...it has become apparent that the "Craigslist special" I picked up this winter is too long in the reach for short me :-). Fortunately I have a slightly taller friend potentially interested in buying it. Today is a beautiful day so I went up to Portland and made the rounds of a few shops to test ride some bikes; one of said shops is hosting a bike swap Saturday that I am planning to go to. At the first shop I tried a 46cm Bianchi Volpe and a 49cm Masi CX Uno (I know, these are more cyclocross than "road" but I like the versatility); I really liked the Volpe but a new one is more than I want to pay right now (this shop sells used bikes too, but it's hit or miss). The Masi seemed to be the right size by all the off-the-cuff rules of thumb, but I felt much more stretched out on it which the woman at the shop said was because it has a much shorter headtube than the Volpe. The Masi also had horrendous toe overlap which the Volpe didn't seem to. Major bummer, because that bike was a closeout and would have been a great deal if it had been as good a fit as the Volpe. The second shop, where Saturday's swap will be, didn't have anything in my size that I was interested in to test ride. The third "shop" was actually an EMS store...not my first choice of place to buy a bike but they are the only ones around here that sell Jamis and I wanted to try out the Satellite Femme steel road bike. Unfortunately this particular EMS didn't have a Satellite but did have the aluminum-framed Ventura which I tried out and found to fit nicely; the guy said another store does have the Satellite in my size. The Ventura was a leftover from last year and being sold at a major discount, and it sounds like the Satellite (which is less expensive to start with) may be a similar deal. If so, and if I don't find something great at the swap, I may go to that EMS store and end up getting it if it is the same good fit. Do any other short women have suggestions for entry-level road/cyclocross bikes to look at? I'm 5' 2.5", 30" inseam. Would like to be able to run at least 28c tires given some of the crummy roads here.

[colorisnt]

I'm pretty much the same inseam as you with a short reach and I just bought a 46 cm Surly cross-check(I rode a 47 cm Trek roadie before that). If you love steel, you will love this bike. I love the advantage of steel and really didn't realize how much I missed it until I got back to it again. It's got 28s on it right now, I think, but it can go up to 35 cms. It's very light for steel and quite nice to ride. It's not as "fast" as my carbon and aluminium bike but I like to think its versatility outweighs all of that. And, yes, it still can get quite quick. I got a steal of a deal on mine but it's MSRP is about the same as the Volpe.

One thing I will say about the surly that differs is the shifters are bar-end rather than handlebar. So, that takes some getting used to but I found myself doing it on auto-pilot less than 3 days after buying my bike just this morning. What I do LOVE most about the specs of this bike, though, is the Salsa bars. They are so nice and small for my hands, have a "bump" for resting in the drops, and they are curved delicately to help with your hand positions. And they way they are set up, it's easier to get up and out of the saddle. I've been much more comfortable to do that on this bike than my old roadie.

And you can't beat the ability to ride in freezing rain and snow that I had this morning!

[marni]

yay for a sweet new bike. Congrats.!

[Dragonfly5]

Hi Jolt, I see you are in Southern Maine. I'm up here in Lewiston and my LBS, Busytown Bikes sells Jamis bikes. I'm currently riding a 44cm Jamis Ventura Comp and I like it. (I just bought it last October and it's my first road bike so I'm still getting used to the feel of a road bike) I don't know how far "south" of Portland you are, but Frank at Busytown is great and it might be worth a road trip.

[Jolt]

Hi Jolt, I see you are in Southern Maine. I'm up here in Lewiston and my LBS, Busytown Bikes sells Jamis bikes. I'm currently riding a 44cm Jamis Ventura Comp and I like it. (I just bought it last October and it's my first road bike so I'm still getting used to the feel of a road bike) I don't know how far "south" of Portland you are, but Frank at Busytown is great and it might be worth a road trip.

Thanks for the tip...may be worth checking out depending on how everything else goes...kind of a haul though b/c I am in Sanford. As far as the Portland shops, I was impressed with Back Bay Bicycle on Forest Ave. for stocking small sizes! It was also nice to see women working in both LBSs I went to (the other was Gorham Bike & Ski, also a good shop but I didn't hit it right for finding my size to test ride). BTW, I think it was the Ventura Comp that I test rode at EMS, but in a 48cm.

[colorisnt]

I'm about 5' tall and have a tiny reach. I fit the 46 perfectly. They didn't even need to swap out a stem or anything but YMMV. Prior to this, I had a 47 cm road bike and it honestly seemed to have a longer reach that now I realize was probably TOO long.

[Jolt]

I'm pretty much the same inseam as you with a short reach and I just bought a 46 cm Surly cross-check(I rode a 47 cm Trek roadie before that). If you love steel, you will love this bike. I love the advantage of steel and really didn't realize how much I missed it until I got back to it again. It's got 28s on it right now, I think, but it can go up to 35 cms. It's very light for steel and quite nice to ride. It's not as "fast" as my carbon and aluminium bike but I like to think its versatility outweighs all of that. And, yes, it still can get quite quick. I got a steal of a deal on mine but it's MSRP is about the same as the Volpe.

One thing I will say about the surly that differs is the shifters are bar-end rather than handlebar. So, that takes some getting used to but I found myself doing it on auto-pilot less than 3 days after buying my bike just this morning. What I do LOVE most about the specs of this bike, though, is the Salsa bars. They are so nice and small for my hands, have a "bump" for resting in the drops, and they are curved delicately to help with your hand positions. And they way they are set up, it's easier to get up and out of the saddle. I've been much more comfortable to do that on this bike than my old roadie.

And you can't beat the ability to ride in freezing rain and snow that I had this morning!

How tall are you? I do like the idea of the Cross Check but was looking at the top tube length and it sounds like it is awfully long even on the 42 cm, so I wasn't sure if it would work well for me. If we are about the same height I may have to reconsider that thought. The second shop I went to does sell them but didn't have any small ones available to test ride, or I definitely would have done so (they also sell the LHT, but again no small ones in stock, which I also would have tested).