Quote Originally Posted by fallstoclimb View Post
All of these bikes look nice. I'm not even sure how to evaluate them! I haven't started actually shopping yet, but my fear is that no bike shop will carry touring bikes in a petite lady size.
Do you have a Giant dealer nearby? They have a women's CX bike - the Invite 2 and it comes in XS (14.5), S (16.5), M (18). I recently tested it at a LBS and it's among my top 3 choices for my next commuter bike... may be worth a look if you have a nearby dealer. FWIW, I'm about 5'5" and was testing a size M and it was comfortable... but they didn't have a S for comparison.