Jamis Aurora vs. Aurora Elite vs. Something Else

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Bicycle Chef is my bike shop. They only stock Terrys in small sizes, and they don't have any of the steel ones, and I've talked to the owner about them before (he's a friend) and he doesn't think a Terry will fit me.

Why wouldn't it fit you?

And- if they are a Terry dealer, why couldn't they order you any steel Terry in any size you want? Do they only sell bikes that they already have in the store?

[xeney]

No, of course he could order me one and would if I asked him to. But he thinks I would find a Terry too cramped ... when we talked about this before, he thought I was in the middle, not short-torsoed/armed enough for a Terry but with proportions that make a standard road bike not comfortable for me.

And a touring style bike is, obviously, going to be significantly less comfortable. It was a little dumb of me to get excited about something that is so obviously not going to be a good fit.

[GLC1968]

Xeney -

I think you should try a Terry. I know that they have shorter top tubes and that often equates with a 'cramped' feeling...but it's more than that. I ride a 19' Isis and while I'm not typical, I was able to make it work.

Unlike the typical woman, I actually have short legs and a long torso, but I also have short arms. If I were taller overall, I could probably make *some* men's bikes fit (they just don't make enough of them in 48cm or smaller). My first bike was a 49cm Fuji and it just wasn't right. My second bike was a 44cm Specialized Dolce (WSD) and it wasn't right either. My third (and final, until I can afford custom) is the Terry. I picked the frame size that was the closest and then went from there. For me, I have to use certain saddles and a zero-set back seat post to get the saddle close enough for proper leg alignment. Obvsiously someone with more average length legs wouldn't have to do this. Then I had to put a longer stem on to compensate. Lastly, because of the shape and angle of my pelvis, I needed a slacker STA that I was finding on any other WSD bike in my size range. I think that it's the good design overall of the Terry frame that allowed me to dial-in what I needed.

I am not a long leg/short torso woman...but I did find comfort on a Terry frame. It might be worth a shot for you. They really are like no other frame out there and you never know! I would suggest trying to get set up on whatever frame your LBS caries and if it works, then ordering a steel one if that's what you want. The Isis geometry is the same on both frame materials.

[dex]

Have you looked into the Soma Smoothie ES at all? Soma describes it as a "less aggressive road sport geometry", but the stuff that made me think of it for what you describe included: steel frame, choice of steel or carbon fork, rack and fender mounts, and it will fit up to 32c tire with fenders. And because it's not specifically a cross or touring bike, it seems to have a wider selection of sizes to choose from.

Here's the description from the Soma site:
http://somafab.com/extrasmoothie.html

And here's the geometry charts: (the page is kind of a mess, you'll have to scroll down the page to find the right model)
http://somafab.com/geometry03.html

There's also a page that lists their dealers, and it looks like they have several in Sacramento (and a big bunch around the Bay Area, in general).
http://somafab.com/somadealersca.html

I've actually been thinking about getting one of these frames and a steel fork to build up into commuter/light tourer, but don't tell my road bike. She's demanding new wheels before I do anything else with my bike budget.

[KnottedYet]

Somas are lovely. I was yearning for their DoubleCross (the equivalent of a Surly Cross Check, in fact Surly copies Soma according to my LBS #2).

[xeney]

Ohhh. I did look at Soma, but only the Doublecross, which does not come in a size that will work for me. The Smoothie ES in a 50 cm would fit me, I bet. My husband is dying to build me a bike (he just did a frame-up build of his latest road bike) and wanted me to look at Soma in particular. I am going to have him look at this and see what he thinks.

Thank you, dex!

[tulip]

And a touring style bike is, obviously, going to be significantly less comfortable.

I don't understand why you say this. Can you explain so that we can help you?

[xeney]

Because they tend to have longer top tubes, and reach is my primary comfort issue on a road bike.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Because they tend to have longer top tubes, and reach is my primary comfort issue on a road bike.

I second the recommendation to test ride a Terry. Don't rule it out just because one person says they don't think it will fit you right. If you are having issues at ALL with too-long top tubes you should definitely try out a Terry.

[xeney]

I can't afford a Terry.

I think we are going with the Soma frame ... the main advantage to it is just that it comes in more sizes ... a lot of these bikes have a big gap in sizes at the lower end, and the 50cm Soma is a size that is just not available in other models. Thank you everybody for your help, and I will let you know how it works out.

[dex]

If the Soma works out for you, be sure to come back and tell us ALL about it.

I'm about to go fondle the Smoothie ES frame again...but I'll only order my new wheels for now. (Or at least that's what I'm going to tell myself on the way over to the shop...)