Need help on bike size!!!

[mountainpics]

Crumpton is an excellent carbon builder, but they cost much more than $3000. I have seen his bikes, they are light and beautiful.

Since there is so much uncertaintly can you drive to a city with more bikes she could test ride?

Yeah, I did see Crumpton's website...frames alone are in the $4k's. When she starts racing and wins the Women's Masters road race, she'll be ready for that, but I have to be reasonable about how much bike she actually NEEDS. I am actually considering driving with her up to Little Rock (7 hours away -lots of gas used for something that's not NECESSARY - would feel VERY much like we're giving the big middle finger to the environment, but I digress) to demo some bikes at Competitive Cyclist. Baton Rouge is 1.5 hours away (I live in New Orleans) and there are a couple more shops. I called all of the Orbea dealers within 200 miles and no one has the Diva in stock.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Bah. Aluminum, steel, and ti frames can all fail in the right crash. Many crashed carbon bikes live to see another day. It all depends on the circumstances of the accident.

Bah yourself.
Yes, of course ANY frame can become a total loss in 'the right crash'. And yes, everything depends on the circumstances of a crash. But the fact is that carbon frames are the least repairable after significant crashes that damage the frame, aluminum second least repairable. Steel is the most often successfully repairable after significant crash damage.

[TxDoc]

Baton Rouge is 1.5 hours away (I live in New Orleans) and there are a couple more shops. I called all of the Orbea dealers within 200 miles and no one has the Diva in stock.

Did you try to see how she fits on your Orca? that would give you some good info on what geometry suits her best.
As per budget, BMC may be out of your spending limit as well - but I would still call the nearest dealer and see if they have any suggestions or offers. That would be full carbon custom.
Long legs with shorter reach... have you looked at the geometry on Lapierre bikes? Also, take a look at the stock carbon Bianchi that is women specific. I think the model name is daniela or daniele, and it should be within your budget with Campy (although I believe the stock one comes with veloce or chorus, not record). If I remember correctly it's the same full carbon setup of the 928 t cube but it has a shorter top tube.

[TxDoc]

Just occurred to me... the Jamis xenith comp has a women model with shorter top tube - one of the girls that rides in my boyfriend cycling club owns that bike, and she tried a million bicycles before finding that one that fit. She is about 5'8" if I remember corectly.
Here are the specs: http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/bikes/...ithcompf.html#
I think the stock version comes with Shimano but it's really cheap - so if it is a good fit you could just buy the frame and fit it with chorus or record.

[mountainpics]

Did you try to see how she fits on your Orca? that would give you some good info on what geometry suits her best.

yeah - I raised my stem to simulate the Diva's taller head tube (and raised the seat up to accomodate her longer legs) and though the top of the bars in relation to the top of the saddle were lower than what she is used to, she seemed fine on it (and I have a negative rise stem, so with a rising stem and maybe one spacer, she'd be in a very comfortable position)...gonna check out some Trek WSD frames this afternoon...

[mountainpics]

Also, take a look at the stock carbon Bianchi that is women specific. I think the model name is daniela or daniele, and it should be within your budget with Campy (although I believe the stock one comes with veloce or chorus, not record). If I remember correctly it's the same full carbon setup of the 928 t cube but it has a shorter top tube.

Yeah - it's the Daniela - I was going to get a Diva with Chorus/Record for around $3000 and the Daniela is $3400 with Veloce, so not as good a value (and the top tube is actually 5mm Longer with a shorter head tube compared to the Diva). The Lapierre WSD bike does have a nice tall head tube, but the top tube is long on the 52 size. Thanks for the suggestions, though.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

She needs to test ride a bunch of bikes, that'll narrow it down much more efficiently than all these well meaning suggestions which are spread all over the map.

[Aggie_Ama]

I am actually considering driving with her up to Little Rock (7 hours away -lots of gas used for something that's not NECESSARY - would feel VERY much like we're giving the big middle finger to the environment, but I digress) to demo some bikes at Competitive Cyclist. Baton Rouge is 1.5 hours away (I live in New Orleans) and there are a couple more shops. I called all of the Orbea dealers within 200 miles and no one has the Diva in stock.

Rent a tiny car, the guys (and gals) at Competitive Cyclist are great! We met them by accident last year in Little Rock. Very helpful group, gave us route slips for one of the best rides I have ever done. Houston isn't a far drive and has some large shops. For what you are spending you want to make sure it is the right bike. If you have to drive I would.

[mountainpics]

She needs to test ride a bunch of bikes, that'll narrow it down much more efficiently than all these well meaning suggestions which are spread all over the map.

Yep...just got back from LBS and rode a Trek 54 WSD and a Giant and a Felt and another Giant, and she was really comfortable (and the plumb line from the knee was spot on) with the Trek WSD 54cm except that she felt just a bit too upright. Since the 53 Diva has almost exactly the same seat and head angles, a 5mm shorter top tube (to her advantage) and a 1.5cm shorter head tube (due mainly to the fact that the frame size is 1cm shorter), it looks like it's a winner. Her amount of seat post showing should be about 16.5 cm and the head tube is 14, so that's a good correlation. SOOOOO long story short, I just ordered the 53 Diva frame and Campy Chorus group with a Record UT Crank and Record Skeleton Brakes, told her about it, and she is BEYOND excited. I'm actually going to have HER put it together (with my help) so she can feel really connected to the new bike. THANKS FOR EVERYONE's HELP! I will let you all know how it ends up fitting her after all (should be fine judging by the Trek she rode) and will certainly post pics once it's built.

[VeloVT]

Wait... if she felt too upright on the 54cm, a SHORTER top tube is going to make her feel even more upright. Of course, 5mm is within range to reasonably correct with a longer stem, but you should think twice about putting her on a smaller frame if she feels too upright on the 54...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yep...just got back from LBS and rode a Trek 54 WSD and a Giant and a Felt and another Giant, and she was really comfortable (and the plumb line from the knee was spot on) with the Trek WSD 54cm except that she felt just a bit too upright. Since the 53 Diva has almost exactly the same seat and head angles, a 5mm shorter top tube (to her advantage) and a 1.5cm shorter head tube (due mainly to the fact that the frame size is 1cm shorter), it looks like it's a winner. Her amount of seat post showing should be about 16.5 cm and the head tube is 14, so that's a good correlation. SOOOOO long story short, I just ordered the 53 Diva frame and Campy Chorus group with a Record UT Crank and Record Skeleton Brakes, told her about it, and she is BEYOND excited. I'm actually going to have HER put it together (with my help) so she can feel really connected to the new bike. THANKS FOR EVERYONE's HELP! I will let you all know how it ends up fitting her after all (should be fine judging by the Trek she rode) and will certainly post pics once it's built.

That sounds terrific! I know she will be beside herself with excitement and being part of putting the bike together is the way to go too. A real treat to get the Campy too. Sounds like a great choice for her.
It's always best by far to ride a bike before buying it. Congratulations!

One bit of extra advice- she should ride the bike a bunch before making any adjustments aside from saddle adjustments. I amazes me how our bodies take their sweet time to adjust to every slightly new position. Make only one small change or tweak at a time, and ride the bike a lot between changes. Took me 250 miles before my body 'melted' into my new custom bike and finally reported back to me that it was indeed a perfect fit. I was so glad that I practiced extreme patience and had resisted changing anything all that time- I left everything just as the custom builder/fitter had set it up for me, and in the end I found she had indeed set it all up perfectly for me.
Often a small change will seem 'wrong' at first, simply because it's new to our body. If your GF was switching to a slightly more aero position, she'd at first feel like she was leaning down too far, it would feel 'wrong'. But she's switching to a slightly more upright position, and so that feels 'wrong' right now. It's good to ride a week or two on a new bike without making changes, and then again between every small change or tweak.
But getting the saddle height, tilt, and fore/aft is good to try to do right away, and easily fine tuned later as well.

[TxDoc]

Yep...just got back from LBS and rode a Trek 54 WSD and a Giant and a Felt and another Giant, and she was really comfortable (and the plumb line from the knee was spot on) with the Trek WSD 54cm except that she felt just a bit too upright.

"too upright"? you mean the opposite, correct? because a shorter top tube is going to accentuate the problem... if she really feels too upright maybe she needs a longer top tube so she can get her back flat?
Not sure I read this right, or maybe I did not understand what you mean?

[Grasshoppergirl]

Congratulations! I think the 53 is best because you can adjust the seat easier than the top tube. As you say, there is something to the geometry of the Diva that just makes it fit better having been on the Orca for nearly 2 years. Good thing you have that hot orange Orca to keep up with the Diva - watch out!
About the color-I originally ordered the blue(in fact I'm wearing the blue Terry jersey my friend gave me to match my new "blue" bike) and the shop said it takes 10 days to get it in. Two weeks later they called and said to pick the purple or green, shortage of blue at the time. All the Orbea colors look good.
I looked at plenty of other bikes too, but none of the women specific or others are as light as the Diva and didn't seem like they were going to be an improvement ($3,000-$5,000 worth)on the Orca I had. Looked into a Seven and Calfee last summer and the price nearly doubles plus would not have been ready for a Colorado tour we did last year. Ridin strong on my Diva is what they're just sayin'.

[mountainpics]

Wait... if she felt too upright on the 54cm, a SHORTER top tube is going to make her feel even more upright. Of course, 5mm is within range to reasonably correct with a longer stem, but you should think twice about putting her on a smaller frame if she feels too upright on the 54...

I think she felt too upright on the Trek because the head tube was 15.5 cm (compared to 14 on the Diva) AND the stem on the Trek had a significant rise. You're right about a smaller top tube giving a more upright ride, but 5mm shorter won't make much difference, although the shorter head tube and no or negative rise stem will make a big difference, so I think I'll be ok.

[mountainpics]

That sounds terrific! I know she will be beside herself with excitement and being part of putting the bike together is the way to go too. A real treat to get the Campy too. Sounds like a great choice for her.
It's always best by far to ride a bike before buying it. Congratulations!

One bit of extra advice- she should ride the bike a bunch before making any adjustments aside from saddle adjustments.

Really good advice - thanks!