Narrowing down Road Bike choice. I have a few questions....

[DrumlinDancer]

I have recently gone through the same process and was fitted to a Cervelo and a Cannondale Synapse. I have a Specialized Amira in a 51 but with both the Cervelo and the Synapse I needed a 48. I am 5'5'". And I'm 53 years old.

I bought the Synapse for a number of reasons. It was more comfortable - in fact it fits like a glove. It was better value. It had a compact crankset which is what I wanted for better hill climbing (I need all the help I can get on hills!). I have been so happy with this bike I want to shout from rooftops. All of my previous niggles have disappeared including hand pain, numb toes, lower back pain on right side.

But you need to buy the bike that works for you. You seem to be on the right track with the models you are considering. I was lucky that I had a fantastic LBS that let me take the Synapse out for a ride for 90 minutes (even though it wasn't the exact model that I was looking to buy) and another that had one of its employees lend me her own personal Cervelo bike for a test ride. I felt bad about not buying the Cervelo but the Synapse just suited me better.

I hope you find the bike that you love.

Well I never did get to try the Cervelo. I ended up buying a 2010 Madone on sale, and it does really fit me nicely. It is a 50. Our city has a police bike sale coming up soon. I think just for fun, I might go see what shows up. These are bikes that the police end up with - most likely never registered or license but turned in at the station. I am betting many are old and need "help". I have never gone to it, but after reading and researching and reading the forum, I think it might be interesting to see what is there.

[nscrbug]

Just wanted to chime in here, even though it looks like you have already purchased a Madone. I rode a Cervelo (a Carbon Soloist) for 1 season...ended up selling it last May and bought a Cannondale Synapse Carbon Fem 3. There was nothing overly special about the Cervelo, IMO. It had the same Ultegra group that many other bikes in its price range have. If I had to pick 1 thing that was different about it...the geometry. It's an aero, racy bike with an aggressive riding position...all things that my lower back protested loudly about. I bought it because I thought I was going to get into triathlons and wanted an aero bike without going to a full tri bike. But sadly, I only did 2 races and quickly lost interest in doing another triathlon. My focus now is more on distance, so I desperately needed a comfortable bike...something more relaxed and upright like the Synapse.

Linda