moderncyclista: My inseam is 43cm. I think any of the bikes I'm considering will be just about the max standover height I could handle. I guess tippy toes at stoplights could be managable. I do like that the Jamis bikes have more of a sloping top tube so in theory, could be shorter near the seat than the actual given standover height.

What are your thoughts on carbon fork vs. chromo forks? I like what I've read about the absorbency of carbon, and that it would be lighter. (I'm a weakling with no upper body strength! Though I guess, carrying a 28lb-ish bike would certainly build muscles...). Oh, and with a lighter fork, does that make the bike more unstable in the front?

So far I'm whittling my choices down to:
Jamis - Aurora or Satellite or Satellite Femme
Bianchi - Volpe or Brava

To be perfectly superficial (lol), I love the color of the Brava, and feel impassionate about the colors of the Volpe and the Jamis Satellite Femme.

Does anyone know how wide of a tire the Brava and the Satellite can take? I think both have eyelets for fenders, and skinny racks..

Can one tell the difference between a bike that weighs 22 lbs vs. 28 lbs? I'm mostly doing credit card touring, and commuting so I won't be weighing this down much, but it is still one factor I'm considering. I will be sure to pee first, Knottedyet! Haha

On other forums, I have read that the Aurora feels slow. True? I won't be racing but I was curious about how it would compare to the Volpe. I have not found a women's point of view on it yet..

Thank you all so much for providing insight. After lengthy digging in all of the forums, I realize now that my situation isn't so unique. I appreciate you all providing answers, though you must be so sick of hearing the question: "help, i'm <short> and can't find anything at my LBS, what do I do?"