specialized ruby expert 08' or trek 5.1?

[RoadRaven]

One of my training partners who also mountain bikes (on a different bike of course) has just bought a Ruby Expert '08. The only adjustment she had to request was shims as she is a little over 5' and her hands are not huge.

She loves it... absolutely loves it... she is comfortable with the way it corners, handles downhill and on downhill corners... and the first thing she spoke about was how responsive the Ruby was... on flats, uphill and downhill. She is totally enamoured...

And I must say it is a beuatiful looking bike - it is parked in the office most days and I usually slow for a "quick perve" as I go by - even though I would never have one myself as I have an ideal bike-make for me... but boy, is that Ruby Elite drool-worthy in the looks department.

Sorry... can't comment on the madone...

[Mr. SR500]

SR is out of town, so I'll try. She has a 5.1 on order for about 2 months now, we know the old style fit her perfect, so after talking with a Trek engineer, the rep and dealer, we felt good about ordering a new Madone without a test ride. She has ridden a pre '08 Madone so that gave us a baseline to compare with the bike we ordered. The hard part is buying a bike you can't ride, hopefully Trek will catch up my the Spring, we are still hoping for a '07 delivery on the 5.1.

She also test rode a lot of other bikes including several Specialized women's bike. None fit, second closest to the Madone was a Giant. The Ruby's seemed to long and we couldn't really get them dialed in. I think they are great bikes, but just didn't fit SR.

So I would try and ride the Ruby if available, if it fits - great, if not - wait for the Madone. She is long legged, and while the bike don't look that different on paper, she quickly knows what she like and dislikes during a test ride.

Good Luck

[Eden]

They do look like they have slightly different geometries just about everywhere, so yeah I'd definitely say, try them out and go with the one that fits and feels better. The Trek looks very nice. I have a Ruby Pro, which I am very happy with, but I did get it several years ago when there was pretty much no other carbon bike in my size, so I don't have a lot of comparisons (in carbon). I do have a Ti bike which while seemingly very similar to my Ruby, does not fit me near as well - small differences can have a big effect.