Buying my first road bike! Opinions needed please!

[Owlie]

+1 on reach, reach, reach! This is especially true if you have a relatively short torso. By numbers, I should be riding a 53-54cm bike, possibly even a 56 based solely on inseam. However, since my torso is quite short, I need a size smaller if I want a bike from certain companies. And some are right out.

[Sky King]

I am lucky enough to be married to the bike hermit but even with that, sizing and fit are never ending. I am inviting you to spend a few minutes,do some homework and read this article about saddle height and bike size, The entire series is geared to touring bikes HOWEVER, saddle height and determining bike size are not that different on a non touring bike. This should help put you in the drivers seat when you go bike shopping!

[Wahine]

Just another opinion that the 50 cm is likely too large for you.

Any contemporary road bike will feel good the first time you ride it, until you have ridden some other bikes to compare it to and have some experience to draw from. Sometimes you won't know there's a problem unless you take it out for a long test ride. If it is possible to rent or demo the bike for a 30 to 45 min ride, take advantage of that.

Generally speaking, I find reach to be the most important fit component on the bike. Usually, if you find a bike that fits your reach, you can adjust the saddle height to the appropriate position.

The rule of thumb given in the above article is very useful as a starting point, but don't feel like it's set in stone. People have different pedaling styles, not to mention little quirks in anatomy that will make it appropriate to deviate from the formula to some degree.

[Murphy's Mom]

Well you guys are all going to yell at me...but I ended up with the 49 cm Specialized Secteur!

I will say this-I went to 4 other stores in my area the weekend after I posted and rode at least 1 bike at every shop. Most of the stores didn't even carry below a 47 cm (I went to shops with Masi, Fuji, Giant, Specialized again, Scott and a Trek retailer.)

What was funny to me, was some stores would let me ride the 47 cm and it would feel great but then would say they still thought I needed the smallest one after asking my height, and they wouldn't make adjustments to the bike I had just rode. It was kind of funny. At another store that also sold Specialized the guy put me on a 48 cm Ruby (OMG it was beautiful) and he even had smaller bikes in the store. He put me on a trainer and made adjustments before I rode around for about 10 minutes. It was a great bike-but didn't want to spend that much. At the end of the day, I went back to my LBS and rode the 49 cm Secteur again. (Which is only 1 cm up from the Ruby.) At this point I felt like I had tested enough that I knew what to feel for. The owner was there this time and helped me adjust the bike and after a few seat adjustments etc., it felt great. So I got it-and I have rode a few times for at least 45 mins and don't feel any potential problems (no straining to reach etc.)

So overall very happy with my purchase although I do think I will take the advice of getting a woman's saddle.

Thanks again everyone! I'm sure as I get into this more I will have loads more questions. You were all so helpful, even though it probably seems like I didn't take your advice lol

[Caddy]

Congrats on your new bike!

I'm still worrying, though, especially after reading all the other posts. I looked up the geometry of the bike and the standover itself is longer than your inseam. I rode a bike previously where everything kinda fit and felt okay (for the first 30 minutes), but after that was pure torture to ride. I had loads of trouble mounting and dismounting when I was tired because it was definitely too tall for me.

I ride a 46 in Specialized with a longer inseam than you (5'2") and I'm guessing a longer reach, and it is just right for me.

I almost feel like the bike shop just wanted to clear out the bike in stock instead of ordering something that actually fits :/ It's also one of the reasons why test rides don't really work because you need a lengthier amount of time on the bike before you can feel the aches caused by an inappropriate size. So I guess... ride it for longer and see what you think then.

(Also, as a side note, the sizes that the bikes come in mean absolutely nothing - they are arbitrary and vary greatly from brand to brand. What you're interested in is effective top tube (reach), standover, and stack (distance from seat to the bottom bracket).)