Fit issues

[Caren]

For 2 k, you should be able to find a full carbon roadie with 105 components if you look. There are always good sales.

I don't know that I want a carbon frame though, I've only fallen over twice (early clipless accidents) but I don't want to worry about it getting knocked over in the garage (though I take excellent care of the one I have now) or crashing or something and having the frame just be totally useless. I love my kids, but I have three boys and I always plan for the likelihood that they will damage something. We have one Specialized dealer within 20 minutes of me and the owner is a great lady, the one that did the fitting for me, but I hate the thought of taking up her time to get an idea of the size I need, and if I need a women's specific bike or not, and then not buying something there.

What sort of riding are you doing? Are you going for distance or speed?

I would really like to do both, if I can. During the week I manage to get away almost everyday for a 15-25 mile ride and I like them to be quick but then on the weekends I can normally get a couple of hours both days. I'll have more time as the kids get older so I want to make sure I get something now that I will be happy with 10 years from now. I hate change and I hate shopping so I'll take a year to find the right thing if I have to just so I don't have to do it again.

And may I reiterate: your CX is a VERY common size, which means a lot of people are in the market for it. Settle on a price and stay more or less firm.

Is there somewhere to look to get a good idea on pricing? I'm not out to gouge anyone and I certainly understand it's a used bike, but I'll need to get as much as I can for it to justify selling it for another one. And I'll have to get a new one first before I sell my current one, the Bike MS event is at the beginning of August and I'm sure I'll need every bit of training time to get ready.

That Ridley is beautiful! I love that internal cable routing to, so clean looking. I haven't heard of them before so I'll have to check that out. I know I said it earlier, but I really appreciate the help. As much as I love my bike, and can't imagine not riding, I know next to nothing about all of the pieces and parts.

[Caren]

Oh boy. So it's possible that I'm so embarrassed that I considered not even logging back in this morning. I wound up in the garage late last night going over every inch of the bike, sure that the frame size had to be somewhere. I found a 47 stamped on the bottom of the frame half buried under some routing bracket and then I remembered I have the receipt in my wallet. Here's where my confusion outweighs my embarrassment, if I'm measuring from the middle of the bottom bracket to where the seat tube enters, and the lowest possible point it can go, I get 19 3/4, but if I measure to the bottom of that black "neck", or collar looking thing, then I get 19 1/4". Which obviously means the difference between 48.89 and 50.16. And now I'm just hopelessly confused. 48.89 is closer to 49 than 48, basic math says round up. And 49 (and I measured a bijillion times) is obviously not 47, the number stamped on the bottom and what my receipt shows. Gahh!!!

And that brings me to wondering, if the frame really is a 47, even if it fits like a 49, how much of my "issues" are me just thinking there is some magic unicorn bike? Yeah...like I said, totally embarrassed.

It's the Cyclocross 5 on pg 59 I bought it May 5 of '09 in Dexter, MI