Does anyone sell womens specific frames only?

[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.