Help! Deciding on a new racing bike

[NJBikeGal]

I, too, have been shopping for a new racing bike...for about 5 months now! I have only a few brief words of advice...

#1 - ride as much as you can. By riding, I don't mean tooling around a parking lot for 10 minutes. I mean, RIDE the bikes. Get a feel for them on the road, on different terrain. A good bike shop should let you do this (with proper collateral held, of course!)

#2 - listen to people, but don't LISTEN to people. I tried a bike because a girl on my team LOVES hers...I HATED it. Not my style, not the bike I want.

#3 - unless you are particularly small, i.e. petite, don't think that you have to buy a WSD bike. Boys bikes are just fine for us girlies! I'm not particularly petite, so I actually fit better on "men's" bikes than women's.

ummmmm....I think that's it. HAVE FUN!!! Keep us updated!

[RoadRaven]

Well, I may be biased but our stable holds mostly Giant, Cervelo and EMC - and those are what I would recommend

My bikes are Giant TCR2 which I have made into a TT bike, and a women's specific EMC2 FemmetapePro.

The EMC corners very well - although I have never ridden a crit (our club doesn't do them). It's light and very responsive.

The thing I like about the women's specific is that it came with narrow handlebars and short reach levers.

I agree with NJBikeGirl though - don't limit yourself to WSD. Look for the frame you love and whose geometry fits your body best... all other components can be swapped and upgraded.

I would recommend getting narrow handlebars - I am 5'10" with wide "swimmers" shoulders and technically 'normal' bars should be fine... but the fit of the narrower bars has meant so much comfort...

Likewise the short-reach levers, but you can easily pop shims in to make the reach less.

Good luck - what an exciting shopping outing to be on

[rhiannon008]

I recently spent a couple of months searching for the right bike myself, and I would second the idea of spending a good chunk of time test riding. I would also recommend spending the extra money to have a proper fit done from someone who understands your needs and the type of riding you will be doing. It isn't quick or cheap,but once the fit has established the geometry that places you in the most effecient position, you can begin shopping in earnest.

All the top brands are claiming their frames to be "stiff yet compliant" blah, blah, blah. Only the fit can tell you which of these brands geometry makes sense for your body and riding style. There are many bikes that I eliminated this way before finding the perfect match with a Cervelo R3.

Best of luck in your search!