Fast, comfy ride for a 5'0 woman?

[Cataboo]

Hey, I'm not sure if this helps and is probably a somewhat wacky and labor intensive idea - there's a terry symmetry on ebay that ends in a few days with a 26" standover.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=017

So height wise, i'm sure it'll fit her. Components are old 7 speed, however, and you might have to do significant tweaking or swapping out of the stem, saddle and things like that to get it to fit her right, and your local bike shop might be able to help you with that.

And then given that it's a 7 speed, you might want to make it more modern... however, you were willing to put her on a fixie, so a 7 speed triple might be fine for now while she's figuring out what she really wants in a bike...

And later on when you guys have more an idea of what she really wants, maybe you can convert this into a fixie or a commuter for her.

[Cataboo]

There's also a forum for reselling terry bikes on the terry website.

[Crankin]

I don't think I have the Coda "elite" in the femme model. Yes, the components are low end, but nothing has broken... I find it as easy to shift as my Norco mountain bike, which is more of a mid range, $1500 bike. I only compare it to that, because they both have flat bars, but the Norco has higher end components. My husband bought the Coda Sport edition, as that is what the shop had in his size. Because of the terrain we live around, he gets jealous of my super low gears, but overall both bikes have had absolutely no problems.
I've ridden my Jamis in the rain a few times and it performed well, too.

[Triskeliongirl]

I would hold off for a 2001-2006 terry that is 9spd. Also check out buy/sell forum on ebay.

Note symetry/isis will have drop bars and won't have as much tire clearance as classic/madeleine which also have flat bars. From the way you described her interests I think classic/madeleine suit her more.

[pardes]

I'm just a bit above five feet with long legs and I have and love my Trek 7.6 FX. It fit me perfectly right off the floor. I'm 62 and just getting back into biking so if it worked for me it will surly work for her. Have her try one. BTW, my is not WSD.

[withm]

Terry will ship bikes to your local shop for test rides, no obligation.

Who is going to maintain this bike? If you will be dependent upon your LBS for fitting and service it makes more sense to cultivate a good working relationship with that LBS, and getting them to bring in bikes for your wife to try.

On the other hand, you can make a lengthy career out of buying the perfect bike. Just go out and buy something that is a good fit, and save all the "perfect features" for the next bike. Until she gets a few hundred (thousand?) miles in she isn't going to know what's good and what isn't.

Like the commercial says, "just do it."

[broken_cynic]

Thanks largely to the quality advice recieved here, we've settled on a course of action:

1) Go try out as many different bikes as possible at the LBS
2) Watch ebay and the Terry forums for a used Classic or Madeleine (or, failing that, a Symmetry/Isis)
2a) If the auction Catriona posted doesn't go too high, we'll just grab that as a starting point!
3) If we can't get a used Terry in the right size and for a good price by January, then we'll probably pick up a Trek 7.5FX WSD or a Felt ZW30
4) Ride, ride, ride... until she starts talking about her 'next bike!'

Thanks again for the help!

[Cataboo]

Sounds like a well thought out plan to me.

[Triskeliongirl]

I looked at the terry auction. While I think she'd enjoy a newer bike w sti shifters more, if the price doesn't go up too much it really does look like a good value that will let her get a feel for the terry geometry. It looks to be in good shape and have good components for its age. Did you measure her cycling inseam to see if she needs the 16 or 17.5"? Do be advised that these bikes can be a little twitchy w the short stems they usually originally ship with, but that can be fixed easily w a stem swap if her body can tolerate it (I even have some, so contact me if you get it and like it but think she needs a longer stem).

Let us know if you win the auction!

[broken_cynic]

I did win the auction, as well as that of an older step-through frame Raleigh that has been converted to a single speed so she will get to try two different ends of the spectrum. We also stopped by the LBS where they didn't have a large selection of bike that fit her, but she was able to try out a Trek 1.2 and 7.3 FX (both WSD.) She decided that she doesn't like STI levers (they're a long reach for her hands) and that maybe all-out speed isn't quite as important as she thought it was. She really wants something faster than a hybrid but more comfortable than a road bike: she wants a touring bike.

We did measure her inseam and I think she would be ok on either the 16" or 17.5" frame. The 17.5 would probably be a slightly better fit while riding, but standover height would start to become an issue. If some wider tires and perhaps some more relaxed bars aren't enough to make her comfortable on the 16" Symmetry, then I will continue to look out for a Madeleine/Classic. I will keep the longer stem suggestion in mind, especially if we swap the bars for something like the Nitto Albatross or a set of mustache bars.

[OakLeaf]

Shimano offers Ultegra-level short reach brifters and I would highly recommend them. I'm 5'3" with small hands and have no trouble with those. I really like being able to shift without taking my hands off the bars and away from the brakes.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Shimano offers Ultegra-level short reach brifters and I would highly recommend them. I'm 5'3" with small hands and have no trouble with those. I really like being able to shift without taking my hands off the bars and away from the brakes.

I totally second this recommendation.

The Ultegra short reach brifters made a HUGE difference in my ability to get my fingers wrapped around the brakes. So much so, that I just recieved a second set of them and am converting my other bike over to them as well this week.
I can't WAIT! The short reach brifters are SO much better for my small hands. They come in 9 speed and 10 speed. (mine are both 9)
If you buy a new bike I'm sure the LBS might be able to do a fair swap on them for you.
Lots of women-specific new road bikes believe come with them now.

[ms pepperpot]

she wants a touring bike..

I'm 5'1" and had similar problems trying out small bikes. I decided I wanted a touring bike, but there are very few small enough which are easily available over here and bike shops didn't have any for me to try.

I have just got a surly LHT size 42. I wasn't able to try it built up before i decided to go for it, but there were frames in the bike shop of different sizes so I could get a rough idea of what would work. From this I found that there'd be barely any stand over on the 42 cross-check, but the LHT would be ok in both 42 and 46.

It's early days (I've had it for less than a week) but size wise it seems pretty perfect. There's a decent amount of stand over, so there was quite a bit of flexibility in how it was set up. I have it with low gearing and Netto Randonneur handlbars. It's lovely to ride too, and to me seems fast enough and not too heavy at all.

anyway, that's just a few additional thoughts on this topic.

[Cataboo]

I did win the auction, as well as that of an older step-through frame Raleigh that has been converted to a single speed so she will get to try two different ends of the spectrum. We also stopped by the LBS where they didn't have a large selection of bike that fit her, but she was able to try out a Trek 1.2 and 7.3 FX (both WSD.) She decided that she doesn't like STI levers (they're a long reach for her hands) and that maybe all-out speed isn't quite as important as she thought it was. She really wants something faster than a hybrid but more comfortable than a road bike: she wants a touring bike.

We did measure her inseam and I think she would be ok on either the 16" or 17.5" frame. The 17.5 would probably be a slightly better fit while riding, but standover height would start to become an issue. If some wider tires and perhaps some more relaxed bars aren't enough to make her comfortable on the 16" Symmetry, then I will continue to look out for a Madeleine/Classic. I will keep the longer stem suggestion in mind, especially if we swap the bars for something like the Nitto Albatross or a set of mustache bars.

Let us know how it works out. I'd been half eying that terry for myself, but knowing that your wife actually needed a bike let me resist the bike acquisition urge.

I've got short fingers & small hands, but I manage the STI levers... I might be better off with the short reach, but I haven't tried them. I do mostly ride on my hoods though.

[broken_cynic]

We will have to check out the Ultegra short reach shifters as well as Campy Ergos if she doesn't like the bar-ends.

ms pepperpot - A 42cm LHT is exactly what I was planning on building her at the beginning of this process. It is likely still what I will build if after riding the Terry for a while she still thinks a touring frame would suit her better (unless I suddenly become rich and can afford a new Terry Madeleine or Rivendell Atlantis!) However, I came to the conclusion that building up a brand new LHT was a whole lot of money to spend when I wasn't 100% certain that was the bike for her. This way she can try a good bike and yet we should be able to sell it for what we paid without too much trouble if she wants the LHT.

catriona - Thanks for sitting on your hands this time around. If we do decide to go to a touring bike in the future, I will let you know before putting it up for sale anywhere.