Emily:

Again, thank you so much for all your help. I'm very encouraged to hear your club member is my height and fits a 16" Terry frame. I wrote to Terry and they were so quick to respond -- wow, really great customer service. They did say their frames aren't similarly sized to the Treks (the smaller front tire helps).

Yes, I've been checking the geometries of ALL bikes I've been looking into. I've focused on standover height and top tube length. My Marin's top tube is just right (20.5"), the Terry Classic's top tube is 19.3", so it should also be good. Unfortunately, I could only locate one LBS that actually carries and will continue carry Terry bikes, and they only had a 17.5" Classic in stock. They are of course happy to order the 16" for me with no obligation to buy.

The great news is that Terry sale prices should be honored by Terry dealers, so I should be able to get the 2002 Classic thru my LBS at the sale price. Can you tell me what it's like buying a demo?

The bad news is the Terry rep said I still might not be able to clear the 16" Classic, since the standover ht is 26.3" and my inseam is 26.25". He gave me tips on measuring and also suggested I measure my clearance over the top tube on the 11" Susan B as another way to measure my true inseam. I'm trying it tomorrow (fingers crossed!).

BIKE SHOE QUESTION . . . (i'll cross-post this question under the general "accessories" forum in case you're the only person reading this thread! )

I've been measuring my inseam with my tennis shoes on as I don't have bike shoes. When we got the Marin's, we had the option of clipless pedals, but I was a bit afraid of using them. Mostly though, I didn't get them because (1) I can't really afford them now and (2) I have an extremely hard time finding regular tennis shoes to fit so I figured I'd never find bike shoes to fit and would never get to ride my bike!

I'm now seriously thinking of getting bike shoes so I can gain that extra inch or so of height. Heck, maybe I'll wear them everywhere so I can reach things off supermarket shelves!

I don't know anything about bike shoes, though. Is it "cleats" that click into the clipless pedal? Do non-cleat bike shoes also give you xtra height compared to regular tennis shoes? Can you wear those with pedals with toe-clips?

I wonder if the Classic has an option for the clipless pedal? (I'll check with the Terry rep on that).

Also, do know some good, affordable brands? My feet are so freaky (short, but very WIDE), I wonder if I need them custom made. If so, do you know how much custom shoes would be?

Wow, so many questions. You've been SO helpful -- I really appreciate it!!

~Christine