Quote Originally Posted by Kathi View Post
I agree with Ultraviolet, you may need a slacker seat tube angle. My niece is picking up her new bike today. She had a bike fit before buying. She was leaning toward the Specialized Dolce, but, after the bike fit the Dolce's seat tube angle would have been too steep for her. Instead, she bought an Orbea.

BTW, you have one of the best bike fitter's in the country in Cincinnati. She's a Serotta Fit Institute trainer and really understands women's issues. Her name is Kathy Krumme and she's at Oakley Cycles in Oakley. I too loved my bike shop in Cincy when they did things right but Kathy straightened out their mistakes for me. BTW, I ended up spending more money than I would have if I had seen her in the first place.
Here's the question, though: Most places don't offer a pre-purchase fitting, especially if you're not in cycling hot spots or population centers. How on earth would you find out what works for you (besides the "hard" way) what geometry does and doesn't work for you?

54cm Spec seems to work for me (with a stem change) as far as I can tell. I haven't given a lot of others proper test rides (no one seems to keep any 54 cm WSD bikes in stock) I'm in no position to buy, nor will I be for a long time. Yes, I'll be testing other bikes (especially because Specialized seems to be very expensive), but I think it's on my short list.