Should I really avoid entry level road bikes?

[Erin_AK]

I see you live in Alaska and that you won't be commuting in the winter. But what part of Alaska? I've spent some non-winter time in Juneau, and there's alot of rain. Would you be riding to work in the rain, and therefore need fenders? Many road bikes can't accommodate fenders.

Getting weight off your hands involves having really good form and a very strong core. That is, in addition to a properly-fitted bike. You should not have any saddle pain.

Good point. I will split my time between Anchorage and Seattle this winter and move to Anchorage full time next winter. I'm definitely not hard-core enough to want to ride on snow and always have rain gear with me when I commute in Seattle. The weather is so unpredictable, and I have been soaked by the ride home on more than one occasion.

You have totally nailed my weakness--I have never had a strong core! How should this impact my choice of fit?

[KnottedYet]

You have totally nailed my weakness--I have never had a strong core! How should this impact my choice of fit?

Might be better to let it impact your choice of exercises!

Seriously, though, a strong core is such a bonus for so many aspects of life on this planet that it might be worth your while to strengthen it. (yoga prone and side planks and prone boat are great places to start)

[aicabsolut]

Have you tried 50cm men's bikes? They can be hard to find. See if you can just find anyone around who has one you can sit on. If you can narrow things down, then you can just get a shop to order what you want. To accommodate small hands, you might need to shim the brakes and change handlebars, but those are cheap to free swaps, depending on the shop (I swapped out bars of equal value from stock and the shop didn't charge me anything for ordering the smaller ones).

Also, keep trying both size ranges (48-51). Different manufacturers will have different geometry.