Long Torso, Short Legs.

[kelleil]

Soooo everyone loves the Amira... Interesting!

I live outside of San Francisco so I've got every dealer nearby. Soooo lucky.

I am so thankful for y'all, I'd never even thought men's.

I like Felts but I get gnarled at the color choices (I'm against anything in the color white, which is vastly stronger than my dislike of trek or cannondale. I know, it makes no sense. I also hate bananas but love plantains. This color problem will most likely keep me off binanchi's)

Marin's, Jamis any good? The giant time trial bike is sooooooo hot but otherwise I'm skeptical based off on nothing more than hunch.

Y'all seriously rock!

[Owlie]

Soooo everyone loves the Amira... Interesting!

I live outside of San Francisco so I've got every dealer nearby. Soooo lucky.

I am so thankful for y'all, I'd never even thought men's.

I like Felts but I get gnarled at the color choices (I'm against anything in the color white, which is vastly stronger than my dislike of trek or cannondale. I know, it makes no sense. I also hate bananas but love plantains. This color problem will most likely keep me off binanchi's)

Marin's, Jamis any good? The giant time trial bike is sooooooo hot but otherwise I'm skeptical based off on nothing more than hunch.

Y'all seriously rock!

C'Dale makes nice bikes. Their aluminum CAAD10 rides about as nicely as the carbon version (Supersix) for a lot less money. There's a good chance the CAAD10 Women's is going to be my next bike, provided there's no geometry changes between the 2012 and 2013 (when I graduate--present to myself!) models. (I'm the opposite of you--short torso, long legs.) Jamis is also nice. Check out their steel road bikes (Satellite/Quest). I have no opinion of Trek or Marin.

(I don't like white either--I spent an hour yesterday putting nail polish over all the scratches on the white bottom half of my bike. I can't find a true color match, so it's sort of obvious.)

[MGM]

Soooo everyone loves the Amira... Interesting!

I live outside of San Francisco so I've got every dealer nearby. Soooo lucky.

I am so thankful for y'all, I'd never even thought men's.
!

The Amira's a fine bike, but I didn't like the ride. It's harsher, but that's because it's more of a performance or racing bike. It does have a lower, more aggressive posture. Give it a try - but do try that Roubaix. If you loved the Ruby the Roubaix might do the trick. I also felt cramped on the Ruby until I realized I had to go up in size to a 54cm, not a 51. And then we did the fitting to adjust everything just right.

[kajero]

What do you mean when you say you felt "cramped." I test road a Ruby 44 and it feels so small to me, but the LBS said he felt that was the correct size. I know he wasn't trying to sell me a floor bike because he had a 47 on the floor and ordered the 44 from specialized. My Giant Bike is one size bigger than the 44 and is a hybrid. So I really don't now how to feel.

I already bought the Ruby 44 but it is at the shop due to my accident. So I really do have time to change my mind regarding size.

[Koronin]

The Specialized 44cm is basically what a Trek 47cm is or a Felt or Felt 48cm is. Specialized measures their bikes differently.

[winddance]

Soooo everyone loves the Amira... Interesting!

I live outside of San Francisco so I've got every dealer nearby. Soooo lucky.

I am so thankful for y'all, I'd never even thought men's.

I like Felts but I get gnarled at the color choices (I'm against anything in the color white, which is vastly stronger than my dislike of trek or cannondale. I know, it makes no sense. I also hate bananas but love plantains. This color problem will most likely keep me off binanchi's)

Marin's, Jamis any good? The giant time trial bike is sooooooo hot but otherwise I'm skeptical based off on nothing more than hunch.

Y'all seriously rock!

I LOVE my Amira. LOVE. Yeah, it's a bit of a "harsher" ride compared to a Ruby with all of the vibration-dampening inserts built in, but I've always liked a stiffer, more aggressive ride. It's a very responsive bike, you ask and it gives back. I actually went into the shop intending to buy something more like a Ruby but based on my feedback they got me on the Amira, and I got off with a huge grin on my face. I knew I had blown my budget and found my bike.

My other contender aside from the Ruby was a Trek Madone WSD (I can't remember which number.) I did like the fit but it wasn't as nimble as the Amira and felt a bit clunky in comparison. It was a nice bike for the (closeout) price, however, and I did consider it, but it didn't make me go, "Wheee!" the same way the Specialized bikes do.

I did also like the feel of the Cannondale CAAD series, but they were too long in the top tube for me. Since I had just gone through that with my unisex Orbea frame, fixing that at the stem was the last thing I wanted and the more compact Amira cockpit felt better.

I would actually say the Cannondale I rode was the closest to the Amira in exciting me - but I just wasn't willing to go there with the top tube. I know there are lots of C'dale fans here and that you're not one (I'm usually not either since the fit is usually all wrong for me) but don't talk yourself out of a really good bike for you!