Which type of bike for me?

[NbyNW]

Welcome to TE . . . (from a native Pittsburgher, now living in exile)

I'm 5'1" and I ride a Rodriguez Rainier size S1, which is effectively 43 cm.

Some companies have long-distance test-ride programs, which you may want to take advantage of since it can be challenging to find an LBS that stocks small bikes. Or if they do stock them, they sell rather quickly. I know that Rodriguez has a program and Terry has one, too.

You should also look at the bikes for sale thread on the Terry website.

Also check out Surly Cross Check and Long Haul Trucker.

If you think you'll be out in poor weather, you'll want something that can take fenders, even if you don't put them on initially. And if you're out in the winter, I imagine there will be other issues with keeping your bike clean after riding on a slushy, salted street. I imagine you can run a search for advice in those conditions . . . last time I was on a bike in Pgh I was probably 11, riding my Schwinn Fair Lady, and it was a summertime thing . . .

Good luck!

[Vanderkitten]

I think a smaller rider will find the generally tall top tube of a cross bike to be a hindrance. Cross bikes are made to have a taller top tube than a road bike for clearance when shouldering the bike over obstacles. When cross bikes shrink, this dimension often does not shrink enough. Often times a cross frame will be a half-pound or more heavier than a similarly sized road frame because of selection of materials and wall-thickness which determines the strength of a frames. Cross bikes have to deal with stresses a road bike only comes across once in a while.

A compact-frame road bike is the way to go for a pure-road bike for a small rider. At your size, considering a custom frame, although a bit pricey, might make the world of difference. You can also use CompetitiveCyclist.com's sizing calculator, which you will end up doing if you have a custom bike built. This is the best thing we've seen for getting into the ball-park on fit before you go into a shop.

In fact, all of our MTB and Cross frames were fully custom and the girls used this method.

That's just my $.02, and the new road bike based performance hybrids are also a great option.

XO- VK