Am I ready for a road bike?

[Trek420]

Excellent thread here where many short and savvy riders pitch in with excellent ideas about a variety of great, affordable bikes for short riders. There are lots of choices out there. Get out there and ride lots of bikes, try different shops.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=44652

[jyyanks]

Thanks All.
Goldfinch - my beater bike is a Giant Cypress. I feel like I'm riding a sofa - it's very comfortable but certainly doesn't go fast. My folder is a Dahon Speed P8 - great and fun bike to ride with nice fat tires but again not a fast bike. I also had an older Specialized Crossroad (bought on CL and never rode) but gave it my mom so she could ride with me. When i first started riding, I originally wanted comfort but am now thinking I want something more nimble.

azfiddle - what is the main difference between your fuji and the ruby? Is the Ruby a smoother ride? Funny, I'm 5'0 and he put me on a 48 inch Ruby. I also tried an Amira which was really aggressive in my opinion.

Trek - great thread! I do remember reading it back when I wasn't looking for a road bike! I'm going to reread it to see if I can get ideas.

I do appreciate the advice. It's funny because I really was looking just for a hybrid but am now thinking that a road may be better. I haven't tried any aluminum road bikes but will give those a shot as they seem to be less $ than the carbon.

[azfiddle]

Maybe it was because I changed some things on the set up after a while, but I was more stretched out on the Fuji. I could never ride comfortably in the hoods and use the brakes from that position. I used the extra "cheater brakes" most of the time. The Ruby is definitely more comfortable and performs better. The components are all better quality and it is carbon instead of aluminum, so all that helps.

I didn't even consider trying an Amira!

Your proportions may be a lot different from mine- I have a very short torso and a 48 is just too big for me.

[goldfinch]

Thanks All.
Goldfinch - my beater bike is a Giant Cypress. I feel like I'm riding a sofa - it's very comfortable but certainly doesn't go fast. My folder is a Dahon Speed P8 - great and fun bike to ride with nice fat tires but again not a fast bike. I also had a Specialized Crosstail (bought on CL and never rode) but gave it my mom so she could ride with me. When i first started riding, I originally wanted comfort but am now thinking I want something more nimble.

azfiddle - what is the main difference between your fuji and the ruby? Is the Ruby a smoother ride? Funny, I'm 5'0 and he put me on a 48 inch Ruby. I also tried an Amira which was really aggressive in my opinion.

Trek - great thread! I do remember reading it back when I wasn't looking for a road bike! I'm going to reread it to see if I can get ideas.

I do appreciate the advice. It's funny because I really was looking just for a hybrid but am now thinking that a road may be better. I haven't tried any aluminum road bikes but will give those a shot as they seem to be less $ than the carbon.

It sounds like a road bike or a cross bike may be in your future! You like fast. You like nimble.

Be careful about size. I have had a number of bike shops try to put me on bikes that are way too big just because that happened to be their smallest size. It is hard to tell if something fits for the long haul on a test ride.

It is possible that a 44cm Specialized Ruby or a Dolce will fit you. The 48 sounds too big for your height but it depends on your own build. These are all too big for me but I have very short arms and am an inch and a half shorter than you are. Do you have an idea if you are long in the torso or long in the legs, comparatively? Do you know your inseam from crotch to floor?

Jamis has a number of 44cm, smaller bikes but again they were all too big for me. They have some that are very reasonably priced. Felt is another option. Heck, most of these options are discussed in the thread Trek linked to.

The Surly Crosscheck is really cool but too big for me. It might be hard to find one to try, depends on where you live. I didn't look at cross bikes because none would fit.

[Crankin]

Putting in my 2 cents worth.
I rode a mountain bike with slicks for a year and a half and then I bought my first road bike, an alu Cannondale. It fit me, but the components were crappy, and I kept dropping the chain, and never was able to shift well into the big ring. I also felt every bump on the road. A year later I bought a Trek 5200 (carbon) and the upgrade in components made a huge difference, as well as the comfort. I am not saying absolutely don't buy aluminum, but I ended up spending about $1300 and a year later, spending $2500. I still wonder if I should have kept my Trek, which I sold for the bike I have now.
I also had a Jamis Coda for 4 years, which I used as an errand/fun bike. It's a great bike for the money, and I would go for steel over alu. any day. However, it has flat bars, it's heavy, and the components are lower end (although I never had any issues with them).
A good friend started with the Vita and now has a Ruby Elite. She kept the Vita for a second bike. At first she said she would never buy a road bike, but she was wanting that Ruby pretty badly after the test ride! The bike is sweet and sexy. My friend is not a fast rider, but she is a committed rider.
Of course, I am an enabler and I say go for it.

[jyyanks]

Muirenn - Thanks for the suggestion - I actually have a Surly dealer near me so I will go check it out

azfiddle- good to know. I'm going to try a bunch of different bikes and if I go the Ruby route, I'll have to PM you with questions. Either way,now that I'm interested in a road, I have to save a little more. I do get a bonus in Feb which is probably when I can make my big purchase

Goldfinch - I thought it was odd that he put me on a 48 though he did make a bunch of adjustments. If I go down this route, I will insist on trying out a 44 as well. I have to check my measurements - I have no idea what my inseam is but I should have them on hand. Going to see the Jamis dealer tomorrow. There is another Felt dealer nearby.

Crankin - Your post really cleared things up. I never thought I would buy a road bike because I'm not the best rider. Furthermore, I always "cheap out" and regret it later. What you said about your friend hit home, I'm not fast and I don't ride as much as others but I am committed and see myself riding for a long time.

[azfiddle]

I purchased my Ruby in March. The shop was willing to order one in my size to try and knew I might choose not to buy it, but said they would be able to sell it because it was early in the season. If you can't try the right size now, see if you can get your LBS to do this.

The other bike shops did not offer to do this, and I road-tested a 48 cm Cannondale Super Six, knowing it was too much of a stretch, but did not even try a Cannondale Synapse. I also tested a Trek 47 cm and it was also too big for me. The one shop really won me over by ordering the bike w/ no commitment to buy.

[Owlie]

Jyyanks, I have the same tendency to take the cheaper option. It makes sense in the short term, but I end up regretting it long-term. This is how I ended up with my bike. (She's a bit like AZfiddle's Fuji. Aluminum, slightly too long, low-end components...but don't tell her I said that. ) I did the "I don't need/deserve a nice bike, because I suck at this" thing...and now I want something lighter, faster, smoother...that fits better.

Specialized is expensive, but for those of us in the torso-challenged category, they're nice. I've never ridden a Ruby (shop doesn't have a floor model in my size), but I rode a Dolce and it fit like a glove.

[jusdooit]

When I got ready to make my big purchase a couple of years ago, I had no clue what I wanted. I ended up with a full carbon Fuji. While I got a great dealon the bike it was still a big investment. However, as long as the frame doesn't crack I see myself on this bike for a long time. I may have to upgrade the components, but not the frame........well worth the money in my opinion.

[BC2COCyclist]

I did not know how to shift on a road bike before I got one (today.)

Also, my DH, who has been riding a road bike for years, didn't know how to shift at first, either. He rolls with a Specialized Tarmac and today, I acquired a Trek WSD Madone 3.1.

[happysurfer]

This is more of a personal decision as finances, commitment, time, etc all fall into play. I bit the bullet a couple months ago and invested in a Ruby with 105's as my first bike since high school. I went in looking for a $700 hybrid thinking THAT would be an investment and left with a $2500 bike (on sale)! My reasoning was, the more comfortable the bike, the more I'd want to ride it. I also wanted a very light bike so I could easily take it in and out of my car. As far as the gears, I didn't really like how the Sram gears felt in the test run, so 105's was the only other option. I, too, didn't know how to use the gears until the test ride at the LBS. 2 months later: I love my bike...I ride it every chance , I get lots of compliments, and my performance has seriously improved. No buyer's remorse for this newbie

[Crankin]

I can't imagine "not knowing how to shift" would be a reason not to get a bike. If you've never had a road bike, why would you know how to do this?
When I got my first road bike, I had been riding a bike with trigger shifters. The switch didn't seem too arduous and I am not the most coordinated person in the world! DH showed me when I had the bike on the trainer in the LBS and it seemed kind of intuitive. I spent a bit of time in the middle ring, exploring the range of gears on the right, but I also had to use the granny right away, too. The big ring never worked well on my first road bike, so it wasn't until I got my Trek that I started using that.
I made the decision not to switch to SRAM when I got my custom bike, after someone explained how it worked. After using Shimano for almost 10 years, I knew switching back and forth between systems on my 2 bikes would not be good for me, as I like things the same. It probably would have been OK to switch if that's the only system I would be using.

[jyyanks]

Owlie - "There's never "too much bike" (until you get to the pro-quality stuff--then it gets ridiculous), just bike that you don't know you need"
Love this quote! Buy your self a new bike! (LOL - I'm an enabler too.) I think since you've invested so much in your current bike and it's still not quite right, a new one may be the solution. Of course, it's easier said than done but you do deserve to treat yourself.

Koronin - thank you ! Very helpful. I was looking at the ZW Series but will take a look at the F's. A local place has both in stock.

happysurfer - yep that was me! I was going to invest $700 on a hybrid and am now thinking I need a road. So glad to hear that it worked out for you and that you are hapyy with your purchase.

Crankin - hehehe - I did feel like an idiot when I had no idea how to shift. My current folding bike has the shifters that you turn so I had no idea what to do when I was on the road bike. It will take a lot of getting used to but since I'm new to all this, there's a lot that I've been trying to learn (like how to pedal correctly, how to stay on rollers etc). I haven't had this much fun in years!