Help! Carbon bike choices for me?

[Wahine]

I would agree with the need for a WSD. Any of the models geared for the US should have frame sizes that would work for you, I'm sure that Trek does, their largest WSD frame just barely fits me and I'm 5'7" ish with a longer torso than most ladies. I fit a 54 Specialized Ruby, I know that they come in 48. I loved the bike and would suggest a test ride. I think it's a good value and you can get different component packages.

[kelownagirl]

No clue LB, but have an OCR1 too! I'm 5'3" and I have an extra small! One thing I liked about the OCR is that it was full ultegra... Too bad it's not carbon. Do they make carbon bikes with triples AND ultegra? I don't ever seem to see any...

[michelem]

No clue LB, but have an OCR1 too! I'm 5'3" and I have an extra small! One thing I liked about the OCR is that it was full ultegra... Too bad it's not carbon. Do they make carbon bikes with triples AND ultegra? I don't ever seem to see any...

My 2007 Ruby Expert is a carbon triple Ultegra. The 2007 Cannondale Synapse Feminine came in a triple Ultegra as well, but I don't see any women's carbon triple Ultegra bikes by Cannondale this year!
If the 2007 Giant OCR Composite W I was looking at last year had felt just right, I would have had a triple put on it (it was a carbon Ultegra bike). This year, it doesn't appear as though Giant has any women's full Ultegra carbon bikes though (triple or otherwise). The OCR alu frame/carbon fork bikes don't even come in Ultegra anymore.

Why all the downgrades? I don't get it.

[northstar]

No clue LB, but have an OCR1 too! I'm 5'3" and I have an extra small! One thing I liked about the OCR is that it was full ultegra... Too bad it's not carbon. Do they make carbon bikes with triples AND ultegra? I don't ever seem to see any...

My Trek 5000 has a triple with Ultegra RD and 105 on the front, and is carbon. Though I think the current version of it is called a Madone 4.something.

[rij73]

I ride a Blue Competition Cycles RC4. It is a unisex bike, but the XS size has the same top tube length as the Ruby 48 that everyone your size seems to be recommending, plus it is a compact geometry, so the standover shouldn't be an issue at all. You might want to try one out. I absolutely adore mine... It rides amazingly and is sooooo beautiful and distinctive. It's full carbon tubes with aluminum lugs. Frameset is 3.5 pounds. It is an awesome bike. I had mine put together with a 105 groupset except I did get the Ultegra short-reach levers. I bought the frameset on Ebay and put on the components that I knew I wanted. That way was much less expensive than a brand new factory-spec'd bike.

Check out http://www.rideblue.com/rc4.html and also http://www.rideblue.jp/product/rc4.html

That second site is in Japanese, but it has better pictures and geometry charts.

Blues are hard to find, but worth a long drive if necessary to try one out.

[Southside Sally]

I ride a Blue Competition Cycles RC4. It is a unisex bike, but the XS size has the same top tube length as the Ruby 48 that everyone your size seems to be recommending, plus it is a compact geometry, so the standover shouldn't be an issue at all. You might want to try one out. I absolutely adore mine... It rides amazingly and is sooooo beautiful and distinctive. It's full carbon tubes with aluminum lugs. Frameset is 3.5 pounds. It is an awesome bike. I had mine put together with a 105 groupset except I did get the Ultegra short-reach levers. I bought the frameset on Ebay and put on the components that I knew I wanted. That way was much less expensive than a brand new factory-spec'd bike.

Check out http://www.rideblue.com/rc4.html and also http://www.rideblue.jp/product/rc4.html

That second site is in Japanese, but it has better pictures and geometry charts.

Blues are hard to find, but worth a long drive if necessary to try one out.

I, too, have a Blue, and I absolutely adore her! Light, fast, responsive. I got mine on eBay, too!

[tulip]

All nice bikes referenced here.

Any reason you are not looking at going custom? My Luna Eclipse is fantastic. It's steel (Columbus Ultrafoco) with carbon fork and seat stays , very light, extremely comfortable (like riding a cloud). Nothing like having a bike that no one else has, not to mention one that is made just for you.

[Natasha]

I have a Trek WSD 5200 from a few years ago. It has a carbon frame with ultegra components. My inseam is 28" and ended up with the 47 and it fits well. All the bike shop guys recommended the 50, but it always felt too big. The 650 wheels should not be an issue. They will have more rolling resistance, but less wind drag. Many tri bikes have 650 wheels and triathletes like to go fast.

[michelem]

LBTC,

It sounds as though we are very close in measurements. For me, it came down to an XS Giant and the 48cm Specialized Ruby. The Ruby won out for me as "something" just felt better about it (couldn't put my finger on it exactly - I just knew). Anyway, I think I tried over 10 bikes before landing on the Ruby. I tried non-WSD as well as WSD. I did NOT like the Trek Pilot WSD, but I have heard of others who LOVE it. So, of course, everyone has their own preferences and even those with the same measurements will love and hate the feel of different bikes.

I look forward to hearing your experiences in trying out lots of bikes, and especially seeing photos of the bike upon which you finally decide!

[deedolce]

We're almost twins! I have about a 28" inseam, and 5' 1.5" tall. I ride a Ruby Pro WSD and LOVE it. Awesome bike. The 48. Small hands here too, and it's no problem.

My story is that I had the Dolce Elite and found cracks in the head tube. Took it to the bike shop, and they replaced it with the Ruby Pro.

Good luck!

[ilima]

IMO, you probably need a bike with 650 wheels. Smaller bikes with 700c wheels are going to have steep seat tube angles (75-76 degrees), which will tend to put you in a more aggressive position that might not be comfortable.

A quick glance at the Trek & Specialized websites indicates they're not using 650 wheels in the small sizes. Felt is using 650 wheels on their small women's bike but for reasons inexplicable to me still have steep seat tube angles.

Not carbon, but the Merlin Camena (and Litespeed Bella) has a slacker seat tube angle and 650s on it's smallest sizes. You should at least ride one for comparison.

[OakLeaf]

I'm 5'3" with legs on the short side and I ride a 50 cm Cannondale Synapse. The standover height of the top tube is just slightly tall for me, but it fits me otherwise (and I *can* stand over it, just not with as much space as CW recommends). The 47 would definitely have been too small. I demo'ed a 48 cm Specialized Ruby last year, and it fit okay, but I definitely could've gone up to the next bigger frame size. All of these bikes have 700c wheels and I don't find them the least bit twitchy. I hadn't been on a road bike in 12 years before I rode the Specialized. It was a few months before I felt comfortable riding close side-by-side or in a tight paceline, but I think that had much more to do with the fact that my handling skills were EXTREMELY rusty, rather than any characteristics of the bike(s).

[NJBikeGal]

No offense to the suggestion, but I'd highly suggest not going with 650 wheels! There's no reason you should work that much harder than everyone else on the road just because you're small! You'll spin your legs with more cadence (expend more energy) to get the same amount of speed as someone on 700 wheels.

The Ruby is a great choice (sorry to beat a dead horse). And, it comes in small sizes that are built really well. One of the girls that rides for Aaron's has a Ruby Pro that is a 44! I've never seen a bike so small for an adult! It's TINY...still has 700 c wheels and she LOVES it!

[Torrilin]

No offense to the suggestion, but I'd highly suggest not going with 650 wheels! There's no reason you should work that much harder than everyone else on the road just because you're small! You'll spin your legs with more cadence (expend more energy) to get the same amount of speed as someone on 700 wheels.

Not particularly true. You'll have more variation in speed from a knobby tire vs a smooth one, or a low pressure tire vs a high pressure one than you will from a small tire vs a big one. It *is* more convenient to use the same size tires as everyone else, since it's easier to get tires and tubes if you run out at an event. For most riders, tire size just doesn't make a real difference in their speed. If it did, all bikes would still be specced with 27" wheels. Instead, we've got people on 16" wheel folders, 27" wheel vintage bikes, and everything in between .

The geometry compromises that happen for a short legged rider on a bike with 700C wheels can make a big difference or no difference. It depends on the rider's preferences. So someone who has short legs should try smaller wheeled bikes and see what *they* think.

[Jo-n-NY]

No offense to the suggestion, but I'd highly suggest not going with 650 wheels! There's no reason you should work that much harder than everyone else on the road just because you're small! You'll spin your legs with more cadence (expend more energy) to get the same amount of speed as someone on 700 wheels.

The Ruby is a great choice (sorry to beat a dead horse). And, it comes in small sizes that are built really well. One of the girls that rides for Aaron's has a Ruby Pro that is a 44! I've never seen a bike so small for an adult! It's TINY...still has 700 c wheels and she LOVES it!

I have to agree with NJBikeGal here....You should fit a Ruby just fine. I ride a Ruby Pro, however a little bigger than most my size - a 51 cm and I am 5'2, 29 inseam, but I like the less cramped feeling. You should fit perfectly on one of the smaller sizes, 48 or 44 with 700 wheels. One reason not to go with 650wheels unless "absolutely" necessary is, if you are in a pinch, get a flat, and you may even just once need to borrow a tube, not many people ride a 650 wheel. Another reason they are just not as common.

If you find that is what fits you best fine, but try a WSD bike with 700's and see for yourself.

~ JoAnn