Dang...I hate when my hubby is right!

[MartianDestiny]

Good advice! I'm hoping reach wouldn't be an issue, since I tend to be long-torso'd relative to my inseam...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm exceptionally long torso'd as well. In fact I wear a men's medium backpacking pack despite being only 4'11".

In a road bike I can handle a 51.5cm effective top tube (with a 60mm stem), but ideally you want to be less stretched/aero on a cross bike (if you are going to use it as intended).

Most company's smallest cross bikes I've seen have an ETT of 52 or greater at the shortest. That's too big for me to ride as a road bike with a 60mm stem, much less as a cross bike

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm exceptionally long torso'd as well. In fact I wear a men's medium backpacking pack despite being only 4'11".

In a road bike I can handle a 51.5cm effective top tube (with a 60mm stem), but ideally you want to be less stretched/aero on a cross bike (if you are going to use it as intended).

Most company's smallest cross bikes I've seen have an ETT of 52 or greater at the shortest. That's too big for me to ride as a road bike with a 60mm stem, much less as a cross bike

The Cdale I'm looking at has a TT of 51.5cm (44cm frame). My road bike's TT is 51cm. Am I likely to have issues on a cross bike with a top tube measurement similar to that of my road bike? My road bike positioning is fairly upright for comfort, not at all racey, if that makes sense. The Redline Conquest is also 51 in their smallest (44cm) frame.

[MartianDestiny]

The Cdale I'm looking at has a TT of 51.5cm (44cm frame). My road bike's TT is 51cm. Am I likely to have issues on a cross bike with a top tube measurement similar to that of my road bike? My road bike positioning is fairly upright for comfort, not at all racey, if that makes sense. The Redline Conquest is also 51 in their smallest (44cm) frame.

I'm no fit expert I'm also not a cyclocross expert.

If your road bike fit is fairly upright at 51 then a 51 (maybe a 51.5, but that extra .5 can make a big difference when cupeled with other geometry changes) would work for you in a cross bike (depending on geometry, etc). I don't have that luxury; a 51.5 in a road bike has me pretty stretched (not uncomfortably so for a road bike, but I wouldn't want to point it downhill on a dirt road at full speed ).

It does sound like you'll have some stock options. (but I have to admit, I'm pretty darn stoked about a custom frame)

I talked to a shop about the smallest Redline and he was very much less than enthused about it for me (and he's paid to sell the darn thing!). He mentioned he thought the Redlines had an overall taller standover than some of the other cross bikes in comparable sizes, but one of the benefits is that they do come with a short top tube. They didn't have the smallest 700c bike in stock so I didn't get to try it out (no one carries cross bikes in my size/close to my size in stock it seems, another reason I just decided to go custom). He recommended the Salsa cyclocross bike over the Redline, and it looks nice on paper if you want to look into it.

Anyway, your best bet is to get out and ride them if you can. Second best would be talking with a reputable fitter you trust.

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Anyway, your best bet is to get out and ride them if you can. Second best would be talking with a reputable fitter you trust.

Our shop guy would definitely do his best to steer me in the direction of a bike that fits me well--he knows his stuff and is definitely in the business of putting customers on a bike that works. I think he carries Salsa bikes, too, but I think I recall them being pretty pricey. At that rate maybe custom wouldn't be all that different.

[MartianDestiny]

A Salsa with mid-level components should definitely be cheaper than a custom. I don't think they are out of line with any other bike at a similar component level. (certainly not if you get it online, but I'm the type that tries to support the LBS, especially when I need fit help)

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Perhaps Salsa would be worth a hard look, then. If I'm waiting until next year that gives us more time to consider a better and pricier bike, too.