2006 Cannondale R800

[Bluetree]

Kan,
I have the 48cm Dolce and (unless the 48cm Orbea Orca comes through ) plan on buying a Ruby at the end of the year. I tested a lot of bikes before and since I've gotten my bike and none have "fit" me quite as well. Fit is different for everyone, of course, but Specialized suits me.

When I went shopping for a bike, I tested both the Dolce and the Ruby, but figured the Ruby was too expensive. What if I didn't care for road riding? So I got the Dolce. I planned to put 3000 miles on it before upgrading (to figure out exactly what I was looking for in a bike) but I pretty much knew after 1000 miles what I wanted: I wanted the Ruby.

Had I gotten the Ruby to begin with, I wouldn't have to upgrade. But then again, it would be covered with scratches and bumps acquired when I first learned to use clipless pedals. Yes, you will fall at first with clipless pedals!

Shifters: If you have problems with reaching the shifters, you can have shims placed in them to bring the levers closer to your fingers. The cables wil need to be adjusted for this. You can also have the stem shortened, if needed. Having a professional fit done will do wonders.

Aerobars: Don't be in a hurry to get aero bars. It's extremely important to get your bikehandling skills up first! Inexperienced riders with aerobars can be a danger to themselves and those around them. You will also have to get your body used to an aerodynamic position, which depending on how flexible you are, can take time. Besides, if you're planning on triathlon, aerobars will not make much time difference in anything shorter than Olympic distance.

Best of luck!