What Road bike to buy Men or Womens?

[aicabsolut]

Well, the Specialized (men's) top tube will be something like 54.8cm for size 54. If the women's bike seems too short of a reach, you can try a couple of things. First, you can try using a shorter stem on the Specialized or a longer stem on the women's bike. You can try going down to a 52cm bike with Specialized and then making adjustments for your height. You could also go with a different men's bike that would have a shorter top tube. That may be a 52 or 54, depending on the manufacturer. Some 54s will be closer to 54cm in the top tube. With some bikes, they'll be in the 55+ range, so you'd want to go down a size to be in the 53+ range. You might also want to look at some 56 women's bikes, since some of them tend to run about a size down from the men's. For example, the 56 Ruby will have the same top tube length as the 54 Roubaix (and so be the same there as the Allez). You may also want to look at the Roubaix instead of the Allez if you're looking for Specialized bikes, because the taller and less aggressive head tube of the Roubaix will have some impact on your reach (put you slightly more upright). There are other bikes with similar more "relaxed" geometry in other manufacturers (Orbea, Cervelo, Cannondale, etc.), though they are still good performance frames. Often, these bikes fit women really well when women's bikes are too compact for them and racier men's frames are too aggressive.

[Jiffer]

I'm 5'9" and ride a Cannondale CAAD 8 in a 54 size, which is not a women specific frame. Fits me great.

[BikerDar]

Hi there,
if you have short legs and a long torso, you are built more like a man, that's my situation. I'm 5 7 and both my steel and my ti are 52 with some tweaks to the stem length and handlebar width.

[Geonz]

RIde both kinds - see which fit