Quote Originally Posted by Caren View Post
Yeah, I was in Cleveland for the test rides, I'm actually between Cleveland and Toledo so it's better here but not by much. It's Ohio, the seasons are cold and orange cone. ; ) I was really checking out the pavement on my ride today, not down right awful, but I've really only got a few super smooth rides. Nothing that will knock your fillings out though.



See and this is what has me still on the fence. I like quick fast rides during the week because I'm limited on time, on the weekends though I still don't normally ride more than three hours but I know our roads aren't the greatest and at 32, I'm only getting older and stiffer in the mornings when I get up. I just wish I could take it out for like an hour to really get a good idea, but understandably so, the shop doesn't seem to want you gone more than 20 minutes or so. I know there's just no way to tell if something that is awesome for 20 minutes will be awesome for 3 hours without of course actually riding it for three hours. I don't suppose there is anyway to compare them, theoretically anyways, to my current bike? For the "jarring" factor anyways.



The guy I dealt with basically said the same thing but you are very right, upgrading the wheels on the lower of the two would be a great idea! I didn't even think of that. I felt a little squished on the Ruby, but like I had a little more room on the Amira, I guess all of the angles and the geometry are still confusing for me. I couldn't figure out why that would be if they were the same size, until I looked at all the numbers, and honestly wondered if I had imagined it.
Same size Ruby and Amira have different top tube lengths which is why they say that Ruby is more of an endurance bike and the Amira is more of a race bike. But, since I have a long torso, feeling hunched over on the Ruby was kinda uncomfortable (yes, you can feel the those few mm differences in top tube lengths which is why a good bike fitter is important ). In fact, my short legs should have led me to a 44cm Amira, but my long torso preferred the 48cm Amira which is what I ultimately bought and rode a century on. Since you are spending so much money, you might want to rent the Amira and then ask the shop to put your rental credit amount towards the Amira bike if you end up buying (that's what my Specialized bike shop does).

Also, I don't know if it is true or not, but people say that upgrading your wheelset makes you feel like you upgraded your bike.