Hi. mtbr.com forums suggested I come here for quality female bike input.
I'm going to copy and paste with edits from my other post....
I'd like to get a bike for the GF as an Xmas present. She's 6'1" and about 145lbs. normal women build.
She is a Trek fan and currently owns a 1985 Trek touring bike which has a top tube length of 23 inches(58.5cm) and a 25 inch(63cm) 'vertical' seat frame tube length. I have no clue what 'size' it's classified as.
Edit: After some searching
http://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/85TrekSport.pdf
I figured out she for sure has a 25.5inch frame on a 420 Trek.
I've sort of narrowed down to 2 current Trek bikes.
At a triathlon event, she demo'ed a '06 Trek 5000 WSD in a 57cm frame this summer and came back from the test drive beeming about the bike. I asked how the fit was and if she felt cramped or uncomfy but she said 'No, it was awesome!'. In theory, a 57" is way too small for a women of her height and I'm guessing she may have been so excite about the bike that she didn't feel the fit properly.
I've talked to my LBS and they recommend a mens '06 Trek 2200 in 58 or 60inch for a nice price of $1400 (but only at that price till the end of the week, then it jumps back up to $1700 or so) and they shyed me away from the '07 5000WSD for $1700 thinking the fit would be really poor and too small for her.
The 2200 is obviously the better deal and has better components but lesser of a frame and is a mens frame.
The 5000 is nice carbon and made for a women but is it too small for my gf ?
Below is a pic of her being fitted 'as best as possible' on the demo 57cm bike.
What do you all think? 5000 in that pic an ok fit for her? Or stick with the 2200 instead and in what cm size?
Thanks for any feedback.