Does anyone sell womens specific frames only?

[skunk]

Hmmm....methinks you are forgetting about my favorite place to look for that Surly (so far I haven't found it)! Just a sample of what I found in 2 minutes:

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/bik/371686689.html

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/bik/371267294.html

NOTE THIS ONE! This is a great entry level bike!
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/bik/371135875.html

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/bik/370460521.html

The only problem I have with these bikes and a lot of the ones on ebay are that they're 9 speed.

[SadieKate]

For your price range and her newness to the sport: fit, handling and comfort should take priority. 10 speed won't affect any of this unless the Campy parts you have right now are 10-speed specific so you'll save money. Even then, much of the 9 spd and 10 spd stuff will work together.

[KnottedYet]

+1 on letting your gf try out lots of bikes so she can get a feel for what she likes. It is going to be *her* bike, right? If you post in the California thread, you can ask for shop reccs. Don't limit her options to sizes and top-tubes and materials you think she needs. Cut her loose, and let her experience the joy of riding whatever strikes her fancy! Let her play! There is a wonderous assortment of bikes out there, give her the pleasure of experiencing that! Then you can build her the bike of *her* dreams. (or buy the one she falls in love with on a test ride. )

WSD isn't a magic bullet. It's just a handy label for a general trend of geometry.

That being said, none of my bikes is "WSD". Let your gf try some bikes. Bikes aren't like underwear: she doesn't HAVE to ride a WSD just because she's a girl.

Edit: Yellow - my Surly just whispered to me that you really need to get a Surly, too. Sending you Surly-vibes!

[Trek420]

I prefer the term TrekSD to WSD.

Your bike doesn't have to be custom, it just has to fit YOU and frame is just one tiny aspect of that, it's important for sure but not the only thing.

Hides subliminal message, everyone needs a Surly

[skunk]

For your price range and her newness to the sport: fit, handling and comfort should take priority. 10 speed won't affect any of this unless the Campy parts you have right now are 10-speed specific so you'll save money. Even then, much of the 9 spd and 10 spd stuff will work together.

It's not so much that 9 speed isn't good enough for her it's just that 9 speed is pretty much obsolete and almost impossible to find parts for unless its DA9. Finding a new 9 speed 105 cassette is a lot harder than finding a 10 speed 105 cassette.

[SadieKate]

Wow, you must use a different internet than I do. 30 seconds found these from very reputable dealers.

http://www.speedgoat.com/product.asp...t=55&brand=226
http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/c/COMPCASS9RDSH

There's also a little company called SRAM that makes Shimano-compatible cassettes, as do Miche and IRD, perhaps you've heard of it?

I'm with yellow as far as leaving the conversation. You appear more concerned with bling or some mind game than making your girlfriend happy and getting her on a bike. You get her there, you can upgrade any frame to 10 spd down the road. Upgrading girlfriends is a whole different ballgame.

[Starfish]

SK, I love you.

I second the notion of letting GF be highly involved in picking her own ride, even if she is a newbie. Personal experience story there for me. Let her control her buying experience. She will be that much more comfortable, then, going to LBS alone after she has the bike, and getting educated and making her own decisions, so her riding experience empowers her, rather than creates perceived dependence on you for her bike know-how.

And, um, as I type, my LBS is putting a new 9 spd cassette on my bike, which happens to not be a WSD, but is 105.

[Trek420]

you can upgrade any frame to 10 spd down the road. Upgrading girlfriends is a whole different ballgame.

And it costs more and takes longer too! And as I type this my LBS is rebuilding my MTB which has 8 speed...after powdercoating the frame.

Log off and get her on the bike that fits her, you can even change frame color later on.

[Triskeliongirl]

FYI, both my bikes are a 9 spd ultegra/XT mix by choice. I have no problem finding 9 spd replacement parts. I chose 9 spd so I can mix road and mountain parts, to let me use a compact double in front, with mountain gearing in back for mountains. Heck, you can still find 5 spd parts. Try someone like Harris Cyclery.

You are also ignoring a critical fit factor by focussing only on top tube length and not seat tube angle, both of which effect reach.

This is how the seat tube angle stuff works. All you have to understand is that every 1 degree increase in seat tube angle pushes the seat tube closer to the bars, so while this can be used to reduce the top tube length, it doesn't change the reach, because the saddle then needs to go back 1 cm to get the same KOP position. So in other words, the REACH ON the following bikes are identical:

BIKE STA TT

1 73 52
2 74 51
3 75 50
4 76 49

The problem is that someone might purchase bike 4, thinking it has the shortest top tube, without realizing that it is identical to the other choices. For ME, the problem with too steep a seat tube is that even with the saddle all the way back on the rails, my knee is too far forward of the pedal axle. So, as she test rides bikes, note both the seat tube angle and top tube length (assuming she has adequate clearance over the top tube and can get the bars to the desired height easily). Once you know her ideal geometry, its easier to shop around on ebay. I got a never been built terry isis frame that sold new as a complete bike for $2000 for only $100 on ebay, and then just swapped all the relatively new parts from an older rusting bike to make a helluva sweet ride. This doesn't have to be expensive, but you do need to know what frame geometry you are looking for.

[Kathi]

[QUOTE=Triskeliongirl;222879]

This is how the seat tube angle stuff works. All you have to understand is that every 1 degree increase in seat tube angle pushes the seat tube closer to the bars, so while this can be used to reduce the top tube length, it doesn't change the reach, because the saddle then needs to go back 1 cm to get the same KOP position. So in other words, the REACH ON the following bikes are identical:

BIKE STA TT

1 73 52
2 74 51
3 75 50
4 76 49

QUOTE]


Keep in mind every individual is different. With a 74.5 or 75 sta my saddles are forward because I have a short femur. My custom frame has a 74.5 sta and a zero degree seatpost and my saddle is forward to accomodate the KOPS position. I have a mtn bike with a 72.5 sta and I feel like I'm riding a recumbent because my knee angle is so far off center.

Ideally, I could use a sta of 76 degrees.

[skunk]

Wow, you must use a different internet than I do. 30 seconds found these from very reputable dealers.

http://www.speedgoat.com/product.asp...t=55&brand=226
http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/c/COMPCASS9RDSH

There's also a little company called SRAM that makes Shimano-compatible cassettes, as do Miche and IRD, perhaps you've heard of it?

I'm with yellow as far as leaving the conversation. You appear more concerned with bling or some mind game than making your girlfriend happy and getting her on a bike. You get her there, you can upgrade any frame to 10 spd down the road. Upgrading girlfriends is a whole different ballgame.

A cassette might have been a poor example but 10 speed stuff is much more readily available than 9 speed or 8 speed. And as the years go by it will be harder and harder to come by 9 speed parts.

I've been through this bike newbie phase myself and have learned that once you start riding you'll want to upgrade to something beyond sora/tiagra/mirage/xenon. I would like to have something mid level to begin with that I can keep for a long time. I guess it's a gamble for me since I don't know if she'll stick with it but it's a gamble I'm willing to take.

We're heading out to a local trek dealer this afternoon to check out their inventory so hopefully they'll have something that fits her.

[skunk]

KOP isn't the only way to fit a bike.

[Kathi]

KOP isn't the only way to fit a bike.

No, KOPS is not the only way but is very important. Your body tells you when something is not right with the fit, it seeks it's natural position. Before I had a good fitting done my saddles were centered and I had seat posts with setbacks. I couldn't figure out why but I intuitively kept moving forward. I had more power but riding on the nose was very uncomfortable. Because my seat posts had setbacks, the saddles hurt because I was moving to far forward so I tipped the saddles down, it was the only way I could ride the bikes comfortably. No one bothered to look at the position of my knees. I was simply to far from the center of the bike.

I have been riding since 1981 when there were no bikes for small women, have suffered on improperly fitting bikes and gave up on the shops and tried to fit myself. I figured out that I needed a steeper sta but couldn't figure out the position of the saddle and that I needed a zero degree seat post. I also didn't realize that my handlebars were place 4 cm to low, that took a professional bike fitter to tell me.

Since I've been riding I've had 3 mtn bikes and 5 road bikes. Of the 8 bikes 1 mtn bike (my Titus) and 1 road bike (custom) fits well. Both bikes were fitted by knowledgeable fitters.

Please start your friend off with a well fitting bike. It's more important than components or frame material. If you do it right the first time the bike will last her a long time. And it's easier and cheaper than trying to make an ill-fitting bike fit.

[yellow]

The only problem I have with these bikes and a lot of the ones on ebay are that they're 9 speed.

9 speed seems to be good enough for many beginning riders. Heck, I even know some very talented riders that ride 8 speed bicycles! sadiekate

I'm beginning to think you don't really want us to help you but rather want us to run around in cerebral circles while you watch, fascinated. I guess we're not really answering your original post, which is about WSD frames, since that's what you seem to think she needs. I'll put in one last plug for you to be a little more flexible re: material, number of speeds, and WSD vs non WSD, and now I'll shut up.

So no, I certainly can't provide any helpful information! Good luck and have fun!