Ruby? Amira? Advice please!

[gnat23]

The new Amira is built to be a racy race bike. It's superstiff and would probably be great for your triathalons. That being said, I haven't ridden one in direct comparison to the Ruby.

I do have a 2010 Ruby, and it's noticeably stiffer than my '06 Ruby was, but I find it to be super comfortable. The new Ruby is supposed to be more for the long distance road stuff, with slightly less aggressive geometry, longer chainstays, and such. I commute the heck out of mine, but I don't think you *couldn't* race on it, to be sure.

All else being equal, I guess it depends on which direction you are leaning long-term!

-- gnat!

[eofelis]

I have a 44cm 2007 Ruby Expert with the Ultegra triple. I'm not particularly fond of carbon bikes, but I like it a lot. I can see where it is marketed as a plush ride. I think my steel Gunnar Sport, with a longer wheelbase, has a *bit* more of a plush ride than the Ruby, but the Ruby is faster.

I'd never take my Ruby anywhere that I can't keep a hand on it at all times though.

Get a nice road bike, but also get a cheap beater bike to commute around on and lock up.

[tzvia]

Ultegra and short fingers...

I always had issues with my stubby little fingers and brake levers. When I bought my first Ruby in 08, it came with 105 and those great little wedges that Specialized makes that fit in the lever that shorten the reach. They work great. On my crash-replacement '09 Ruby Expert frame, I went with Ultegra SL and used those little wedges again. I can't get over how much better the cockpit feels with those little plastic things. I can't recommend them enough.

The Amira looks to be Spec's response to the Trek Madone for women. A more racy bike. The Ruby fits my 'ride all day, I'm not racing' kind of style, and yes I have commuted with it. It was a fast blast, but I had to remove the seatpost and use an aluminum one with another seat to accommodate a clamp-on rack. On weekends, I removed the whole thing and put my carbon post and light-weight saddle back on. It was a pain. Thankfully, work is a secure campus (aerospace) with Pinkerton guards; I just locked up the bike outside my building and felt ok as the campus is fenced in and there are those guards around. I doubt your school will be as secure.

Anyway, I bought an inexpensive bike on clearance (Fuji), put on my left-over MTB drivetrain and flatbars and slid my alu seatpost-rack on it. Much better for commuting, as the wider tires make it more stable and easy on the bod as I am not in padded riding shorts. And I feel better not treating my Ruby like a beater commuter.

[drdwin]

I'm 5'2" with very small hands. I have an Orbea Onix Dama with the Ultegra components and find it very comfortable on my hands. I also did some demos on other bikes with the 105s and Tiagra set-ups that were not WSD bikes and actually felt unsafe because I was so uncomfortable braking and shifting. I also was on the Ruby with the 105s and did not find problems with the handlebars - but I just fell in love with my Orbea - the bike just disappeared beneath me I was so comfortable, so that's what I went with. I found it to be more the handlebars than the components when it comes to hand comfort and LOVE my Ultegra components. The best advice I can give is try as many as you can before you make a decision....the Orbea was not even a bike I was considering in the beginning.