Help, what to do with my bike?!

[Cataboo]

Teeny, I can't really see you on your bike - but how high does your seatpost rise above the top tube? If you put a 0 degree or a negative stem on your bike, you can get the handlebar down so that you can get it a more aerodynamic position. Whether that'll qualify as a full racing tuck or not, it'll definitely help with wind resistence!

I tend to like to be more upright and I think my shoulders are wider or my arms aren't really WSD - so I don't really use the narrow or shallow bars a lot of people on here use. (I may really like 'em if I ever try 'em, but I've been fine with that I have)... I use the FSA k-wing carbon handlebars on my bike... the wing part rises up a little bit above the center that the stem area - so if I'm holding on to the wing area I can be fairly upright, then if I reach for the hoods I'm slightly stretched out because those are a bit further down than on normal bars, and then if I get into the drops, I'm fairly bent over.

But I'm not a racer by any means!

[Tokie]

Good question Teeny - every time I take out spacers and raise my saddle, my right leg feels .5 inches too short and I get back pain. So I'm racing in a not too aero configuration. I'm taking out Ruby franken bike today, but I'll check how tucked I could get on the Trek - if my body went along - and get back to you. tokie

[Teeny]

The seatpost is roughly 4 inches above the top tube (not a v exact as have no spirit level at home). I'm fairly petite so I reckon short reach narrow bars would help no matter which bike I was on.

I guess in an ideal world, I'd like a setup with a very compact frame so I could have my saddle a long way above the top tube but with my height, I reckon the dimensions would be that of a kids bike!

Do you guys reckon a 70 or 80mm stem would be OK in terms of handling? I know a longer stem would obviously be better but in a world of trade-offs, are those lengths reasonable?

[spokewench]

I'm 5'4" and ride a small Giant carbon bike. The Giants are compact frame geometry. They do work fairly well for women, but I'm not sure at 5'2" you should be on a small? I am a woman who is not short in the torso, so for a woman, fairly long in the torso and have fit men's bikes in the past with no problem. I do put shorter stems on usually and narrower bars.

Are there any XS Giant frames around for you to try?

spoke

[Zen]

I very extremely highly recommend the Bontrager Fit VR

[tctrek]

I very extremely highly recommend the Bontrager Fit VR

I am 5'1" tall and have a 47cm Trek 2.3 WSD wih the Bontrager Fit VR. I am short in the torso and have short arms. I love the fit and can get very aero if I want to.

[jodz1984]

I am 5'3 and i have a small framed Giant TCR C1, which i bought 2nd hand but luckily the previous owner changed the handlebars to smaller ones so all i had to get changed for a proper set up was a shorter stem. I got it changed from 100mm to 60mm, since that the bike has felt really good to ride. According to the giant website i was on the borderline of needing a small frame and an extra-small frame. So in my opinion go for the bike and customise it for you, you'll have to do this for a new bike anyway if you don't get a women specific bike, there wasn't that many choices for that when i looked before i bought the bike i purchased.

[Teeny]

Great to hear from some other Giant riders! I've had some difficulty finding any shops who do the giant frames in XS, have a feeling the xs would be fairly ideal though. Unfortunately, the tcr composite doesn't come in that size.
Jodz, it's quite reassuring to hear you get on OK with your TCR. What sort of build are you, short legs, long torso or vice versa?

I'm going on a ride tomorrow, will try to post some pics (this would be before any adjustments to bar and stem as haven't taken the bike to the shop yet).

Keep your ideas coming!