How did you choose your bike?

[emily_in_nc]

Hi mtkitchn,

I'm 5'2" and a half (!!!), and I have comfortably ridden bikes in the 44.5 cm (Terry Isis) to 46 cm (Aegis Swift) range. Basically, I need a bike with a top tube around 19" or just a wee bit longer so that I can get a long enough stem on the bike for good handling. I would have probably been more comfy on the 44 cm Swift as the standover of the 46 cm is just a little high for me (it has a flat, not a slanted) top tube. So....I'd say I am probably a 44 cm gal. My inseam is around 28" to 28.5", depending on who is doing the measuring. I also like short and shallow handlebars (have Salsa Pocos on my Swift and Bike Friday) and prefer Campy to Shimano, though I have bikes with both.

Anyway, this is just a ballpark for you -- I know some gals my height who ride 48-49 cm bikes, but not this chick!

Emily

[aicabsolut]

My story starts out unusual, but it's not too different. I started out on spin bikes beause of injuries that took out weight-bearing exercise. The bikes helped that part, but as I got into better cycling shape and learned about how to train like a cyclist indoors versus doing all the aerobics class stuff (most of which I couldn't do because it was too much hard work out of the saddle), I started to learn how cycling would already add to my colored injury history. From researching and getting advice from fit experts plus spending time with my physical therapist, I knew how my cleats needed to be positioned and somewhat how the bike should fit to keep overuse injuries at bay as much as possible. Given the infinite fit adjustments you can make on a real bike versus an indoor bike, I knew at least how I wanted the bike to make my body feel. This led me to consider full carbon bikes and certain other componentry features. As for the total package, I wanted a bike that I could improve on but wouldn't be too agressive. And I also place a high value on quality--what's the most bike I can get for a good price, staying below where the prices start to get obscene.

So I made a few trips around to the shops and just talked to people. I learned which shops had good maintenance and service policies, which ones might cut me some deals, and which ones were snobby and treated me like an idiot. Then I started asking about the different brands and price levels and components.

I figured out some bikes I wanted to test and I focused on the overall size, reach, agressiveness of body position, and handling at first. A few bikes I couldn't get back to the shop fast enough. I tried different sizes and women's bikes to compare. I told the managers helping me what I liked and disliked about each model and we started narrowing things down more. The last thing to focus on was the quality of the 'ride', including the gearing. The bikes I was leaning towards the most I rode around a couple different days. I wanted to see if I'd be hurting later on from a bike that I thought would be ok at the time.

Then with the fit not being 100% (I couldn't decide if my problem was too big bars or too long of a stem or both), I took home my final purchase for a while and rode. Eventually, I figured out which component I wanted to change first. And I'm happy with that decision. I don't think i'll need to change the other. I think this bike will last me a LONG time.

[mimitabby]

Then with the fit not being 100% (I couldn't decide if my problem was too big bars or too long of a stem or both), I took home my final purchase for a while and rode. Eventually, I figured out which component I wanted to change first. And I'm happy with that decision. I don't think i'll need to change the other. I think this bike will last me a LONG time.

what bike is it? Forgive me, I forgot if you already told us!

[indysteel]

what bike is it? Forgive me, I forgot if you already told us!

I was wondering the same thing and looked up her "intro" post. She has a Specialized Roubaix Comp. Sweet.

I love my Bianchi Eros Donna, but it bums me out that men's geometries really don't fit me. It would be nice to have more choices.

[aicabsolut]

I was wondering the same thing and looked up her "intro" post. She has a Specialized Roubaix Comp. Sweet.

Yep, that's right. Though I'm tall-ish and long-backed (it's a 54cm), so I didn't think my bike would be too useful to this thread. I just put on Dolce bars and a Jett saddle, but that's as girly as it gets so far

Maybe I should add that this article (and emailing the author via the cyclingnews forums) helped me a lot, even though I haven't yet put on the seatpost. I'm trying to tweak the components I've got, but I may need to do this after all. I'm still having some issues with my right side. (I am the opposite of the norm referred to in this
article..my right side hurts from sacrum to foot but I drop my left hip some and have subpar range of motion in the left hip and at the left SI joint):

http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20...ETRY_final.pdf

You can find the (LONG) details of my injuries and difficulties on a spin bike last year and with bike fit in general by reading this post on the Cyclingnews website: http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?...ers05-08#Lower

[eofelis]

Finding the right bike(s) for me was also a learning process that took a few years and a few bikes.

I started out with a steel Giant Rincon rigid mtn bike. I didn't know anything about bikes, but it took me all over town and lots of commuting, shopping and yard saling(!)

Then I met my bf. He knows a lot about bikes. I learned a bit and decided I was ready to move up a bit. I decided I wanted a touring type bike and got a Novara Safari (mtn type touring bike) on sale for about $400. I rode that for a couple of years, mostly as a commuter, and then wanted something a bit faster. So I got a Trek 520 touring bike. I rode that bike for a few years, as a road and touring bike. When I decided I wanted a road bike, I had a much better idea of what I wanted. Using the measurements off the Trek 520 my bf helped me choose a Surly Pacer frame and a group that would suit my needs. I have been riding the Pacer for 4 years and I love it.

The Giant Rincon was sold to some friends of ours and it still gets ridden quite a bit.

I came across a NOS Novara Randonee frame (steel) for $15! So I replaced the aluminum Novara Safari frame with that, (I prefer steel) and sold off the Safari frame. The Randonee is my commuter now.

I got a Haro V4 hard tail mtn bike when bf was working for a Haro dealer. It was my first mtn bike with a shock. I don't mtn bike much, so I didn't want an expensive bike. Then I got a steel Gunnar Rockhound hard tail frame on ebay and moved the parts off the aluminum V4 and sold the frame.

I liked my first Surly so much that I wanted another. I wanted a Long Haul Trucker touring frame. I felt my 520 was a bit long in the top tube, the LHT is 2 cm shorter. So I got the LHT and sold off the 520 frame.

I can say I'm presently quite satisfied with all my bikes right now, not looking to buy another one or change much of anything on any of them. Never mind that I have ridden very little in the past couple of months, due to a Calculus class taking over my life! (The bikes will be there when I'm ready to ride again!)

[Kitsune06]

I started out with a good will bike, $20 (some huffy "mountain" hybrid) but it was huge and slow, and heavy. When I showed my interest in biking, we (ex and I) looked for a good bike for me. Miz Cakes called to me from Collins and sat there, so quietly and patiently as I ran my fingers over her FS counterparts, then shuddered at their price tags. Then she quietly called me back, and I took a close look at that quality work on her soldering and joints- she was so much lighter than the other bike I'd had... and I took her out for a ride.
It was love!
She and I have been together ever since... I admit I didn't really try other bikes. I researched her and her reviews online before looking.

[guest1]

My first bike was in college -- a Trek 520 tour bike. For WHATEVER reason I decided I wanted to bike over spring break, so I went to the local college bike shop and told them I wanted a tour bike. They had last year's model on sale and I bought it. It ended-up being 2 sizes too big, but I didn't know it then! I rode it and rode it a long way, only to get hurt because it did not fit me. It was 15 years until I rode again and bought my next bike.

My next bike was a mountain bike. I rode it on the road because I didn't like trails. Six months later, I bought a road bike, Giant OCR1. I studied bikes and components and the OCR1 was a really good bike for the money. I shopped around for last year's model, to get a deal, and I found it! My only downfall was I did not understand compact geometry and bought a size too large. After riding for a few months, my local bike shop helped me fit to the bike, changing components and explaining why. I rode it for 2 years.

Now I had "bike experience" and started searching for a "dream bike". It was a bike I knew I would build, with help of friends, and not a stock bike. I found a used Bianchi steel frame on eBay. It was NOT my ideal frame, but it had so much character and the geometry seemed perfect, so I bought it. I then hand picked my components, wheels, etc., and built the Bianchi. I have NO REGRETS!! What a BIG BIG difference the Bianchi was to the Giant -- proper geometry and great components rule!!!! I rode it for a year and a half.

Now that I had gotten a geometry that fit me well, I wanted a better frame -- an Italian carbon frame. So I started looking for deals and discovered a new 2006 Italian carbon Battaglin frame at half price. It was MY GEOMETRY!! So I bought it and took my Campy Chorus components off the Bianchi and put them on the Battaglin. It is my dream bike. I hope to be riding it for a very long time!

[spokewench]

My very first bike was an LBS bottom of the line (around 1985) (what they called a mountain bike back them, women's mixte frame) It was bright yellow! My husband got the same bike in a men's frame. His bike was okay My bike was horrible because of the mixte frame. If you don't know what mixte is, it is frame with the top tube that goes down instead of across so ladies can wear skirts and you don't have to kick your foot over the seat or top tube. We were doing real mountain biking and that bike was so laterally weak side ot side that it was scary to ride even for a newbie who didn't know the difference!

My husband went and bought a new Specialized Stumpjumper so I rode his old men's frame from above for a short time. I soon learned that I was right that the mixte handled horribly! But, the men's frame of my husband's was WAY TOO BIG!

So, off I went looking for a reasonably priced mountain bike to ride. Back then there were not very many bikes for small riders (women). I looked and looked and looked. No the smallest size for most makers was a 16" and it was just too big for me. Finally, I found a Klein mountain bike, rigid bike, that's all they made back then. It was probably way more bike than I needed and way more expensive than I wanted to spend, but it fit and I loved it! It was bright orange!

Then, I wanted a road bike so I could ride century rides. So, off I went to some different stores, checked out a few, and bought a grey with yellow writing trek 1000. It was a good entry level bike as I wasn't too sure I was going to like road riding. I had help from my hubby and the LBS and they got me fitted pretty well. The LBS did their fit and my hubby who is quite talented, had read a lot about fit and we fine tuned the bike. It actually fit me pretty well. I kept this aluminum frame for quite a while, but then I started racing and thought I needed to upgrade. (I sold the old bike to a guy friend who still has the bike in his garage.)

So, the next road bike was not particularly light weight nor was it really a fast race geometry bike, BUT, it was classic geometry and handled really well. It was a Bridgestone RB1 with Ultegra. (Cream colored with english racing green and red logos) They don't sell these in the US anymore. This time, I knew about what made me comfortable and what fit was all about so I drove all over the San Francisco Bay Area visiting different shops that had Trek Carbon bikes, and other bikes that looked like they might work for me. (can't really remember what else I was looking at.) I went to a shop in Palo Alto and rode this RB1 in my size - I knew immediately that this bike fit me. See, I am lucky, I fit on standard sized bikes so when I find one I like, I can buy it off the rack. I loved this bike. I race, and rode this bike for years, actually until just a couple of years ago! People were starting to make fun of me because my bike was so retro, heavy and old!

The next bike I bought was another Klein Pulse Mountain Bike (Bright royal blue, very pretty). I had finally given in and needed to get a mountain bike with front fork suspension and my old Klein just did not have the correct geometry to put a suspension fork on it. So, because I really liked my old Klein, and the bike shop I was riding for at that time also carried Kleins, I bought a new Klein Pulse Mountain Bike with a wonderful carbon fork legged, suspension fork! It was very TRICK in its day and the bike shop gave it to me for a steal cause they knew I would Represent it and the shop well! (now, it is an antique, but it sure was cool back then) (The old Klein got sold to a girl who had a road bike and was trying mountain biking for the first time. I don't know if she still owns it but she had it for at least 5 years after I sold it.)

Big Breath, the next bike was a Specialized M-2 full suspension rig! (Flat Black with red logos) Wow, what technology, light weight, great suspension. Yahooooooo now this is a Mountain Bike! I still have this bike and I still love it! It gets me thru the really technical rocks of Flag and rode me to a 2nd place in the State Championships one year! I still love this bike and have no intention of selling it for a long time!

The next bike I got was a Redline Cyclocross bike (red, white and blue, it is really pretty). I had raced cyclocross for two years and was riding my Blue Klein Pulse MTB (very light). That year, they had a frame for a prize and they did a raffle for it at the end of the year and my husband won it. Hubby already had a nice cyclocross bike so he gave it to me, and I sent off to Redline and they got me one in my size! Of course, I had to build it up and that cost some money, but now I had a cyclocross bike as well.

The next bike was two years ago, in 2005, I was sponsored by the local bike club on the road and I rode a Giant TCR frame, (Black) (and bought at a big discount durace components and really nice wheels). This bike was on loan, but after riding the Bridgestone RB1 tugbout, this lightweight steed was the nicest thing since sliced bread! My climbing got immediately better just because I think I dropped 10 pounds of bike! The bike was sweet (the only problem is side winds are kinda scary it is so light).

So, after the 2005 racing season, I had to give the bike back; and we had it planned to go to do the Bicycle Tour of Colorado. With the huge amount of climbing that I was looking at for 2006 (both in the ride and training for the ride), I decided there was no way I was going to ride the RB1 (especially since I only run a double chainring) so I decided since I already had all hte components, wheels, dura-ace, etc. I splurged and bought a year old frame (brand new) just like the one I had ridden in 2005. Well almost like the one I rode in 2005, My new bike is black Carbon fiber with bright pink (they call it magenta) fork and front part of the triangle! It is a beaut and boy did it do its job with all the training mileage and riding I did this year!

So, that's the end. I told you it would be long!

I still have the RB1, the Redline, the Specialized MTB, the Blue Klein Pulse, and the Giant TCR. Five bikes in all. I guess I'm crazy! I use the Redline for cross and winter riding. I use the Specialized MTB for mountain biking. I use the Blue Klein Pulse for commuting. I use the Giant TCR for road riding.

The only one I don't ride any more is the RB1 - Guess I need to sell it soon! Anybody want a 50 cm RB1?

[jenxxs]

mtkitchn, as you're shopping around make sure to try bikes with different choices of wheel size. You'll find that some manufacturers choose to put 700c wheels on their smallest WSD bikes - I think both Bianchi and Specialized fall into this category. Others change to 650c wheels for their smallest sizes - Trek, Cannondale, several others. Then there's Terry, which does the 24 in/700c combo. Each of these choices has different advantages and disadvantages. You can get comparable standovers and top tube lengths in all of these types, but the geometries are distinctly different.

[Mimosa]

My very first bike was a Giant, I didn't know any better and couldn't afford any better. Still it suited me fine during my first 2 years.
In those 2 years I saw more brands and I grew to love a brand called Duell. There were handbuild frames made at a local factory and my club bikeshop was one of his dealers.

Now that I am on the look out again I choose to do it differently. I spend my time looking through forums, looking at pictures of other bikers to see what brands they were riding and looking for webpages of professional bikeshops within an hour cardrive from me. Then I made a list of top 5 brands/types and started looking for shops that were selling them. If I found a shop then I went in to have a closer look and a chat to see if the guy helping me made me feel at ease. There have been times that I walked out of the shop vowing that I would never put one foot in there again, some guys really can talk you down. Eventually 2 brands were left of which I choose the one in my signature because the guys from the shop actually listened to me for a change and were happy to explain things to me.

[velogirl]

Okay, my first "adult" bike I bought because I was on a blind date (matchmaker.com) with a guy who told me to get a Trek 5200. Little did I know at the time that he got a referral bonus from the bike shop.

Seriously, I had been riding on my 12 year old Specialized Hard Rock and training for an AIDS Ride. I had been riding about five months and had already done a few self-supported centuries on my 40-pound bike. I did some research and decided I was going to spend as much as I could afford ($2,500). I narrowed it down to the Trek and a few others.

So, I went into the shop the date recommended, rode the Trek 5200 and another bike around the block, and picked the Trek.

I've come a long way since then.