Bianchi, Orbea, Giant, or Trek Road Bike?

[Tokie]

I just bought a Trek WSD Madone 4.7. I race, and I love the stiff responsive ride it gives me, and it descends very nicely! My mechanic (free lance ) did tell me when I was looking to buy the only thing he would warn me off of was the small Orbeas (I ride a 48 trek) He said for some reason the smaller Orbeas were rather squirrely handling bikes. I must agree they are very nice looking bikes! I loved my Ruby before I crashed her. The ride was more cushy - I'm getting the seat stay repaired, and will use her when I go on long tours and as a backup bike. The Trek is a faster feeling bike. Have fun looking, and a test ride in your size is a must IMO. Tokie (ps I'm 5'1.5" with a 27 inch inseam)

[Zen]

Depending on your budget you could go custom Luna and be guaranteed the right fit.

[Meaux]

I have an Orbea Aqua Dama, it's all 105 equipped. I love her. It's been a great bike, shifts like butt-ah, rides like a dream. And it is the prettiest bike out there.

[greycoral]

I've got a Giant OCR1W, and I love it. It's at the lower end of your price range ($1150), and it's really the only bike that fit me well. I'm also 5'3".

[Miranda]

I've got a Giant OCR1W, and I love it. It's at the lower end of your price range ($1150), and it's really the only bike that fit me well. I'm also 5'3".

+1 Giant OCR1W

This is my bike too. I have the size "small". I think when I looked at the tech specs, that's about a 52. The top tube slopes down a bit more I think with it being a compact road sport, and a bit more upright geometry. I tried to straddle an end of year clearance Trek wsd Madone in a 52. I was on the bar. I'm 5'5", but only roughly a 29" inseam. I have short legs, and a long torso in proportion. Good bike for the price.

[Jallora]

I just bought a 48 Orbea Onix Dama, and I don't find her squirrely at all. She's quite fast, nimble and stable at the same time. I haven't found anything about her that I'm not in love with. The only thing that's taking time to get used to is going from 3 chain rings to 2. And the only time I have problems there is figuring out which hills I can do in the large ring and which ones I need to switch to the small ring before I start up. There's nothing worse than having to go down a chain ring mid hill. Bleh!

[MauiRockHopper]

I just bought a 48 Orbea Onix Dama, and I don't find her squirrely at all. She's quite fast, nimble and stable at the same time. I haven't found anything about her that I'm not in love with. The only thing that's taking time to get used to is going from 3 chain rings to 2. And the only time I have problems there is figuring out which hills I can do in the large ring and which ones I need to switch to the small ring before I start up. There's nothing worse than having to go down a chain ring mid hill. Bleh!

Thanks for posting. How tall are you and your inseam? I still have the hots for Orbea. Did you try other bikes and how did they fare compared to Orbea?

[MauiRockHopper]

I've got a Giant OCR1W, and I love it. It's at the lower end of your price range ($1150), and it's really the only bike that fit me well. I'm also 5'3".

Ok, even though I hardly shopped around due to lack of choices on my island, I've narrowed down my choice to a Giant Avail Advanced 2. I rode a men's 52" bike and of course the top tube was too long. I'm still puzzled when bike shops never stock any WSD bikes, I guess we are a minority in sales! Anyhow, the bike guy seems to think I should get a Small, and that XS would be too small and cramped. What size did you end up getting?