DI2 Depression.

[nuliajuk]

Heck, we're still left out in many ways. I'm frustrated as I look to upgrade my CX bike. If I want something more than entry-level frame and components I pretty much have to go custom...and at just under 5'4" I'm not THAT small, but women still make up a fraction of the field at local races (I think there were only 6-7 of us at yesterday's race...out of hundreds of racers. Most women I've ever seen in a day at our area series is in the neighborhood of 15). Just finding a frame small enough in the first place is a challenge, since the bottom bracket height is so much higher than on a road bike. To find bikes with top tubes that I can clear means that anything larger than a 44 (comparable to my 48cm road bike) is generally going to be too big. I love my Redline and was drooling over their carbon/disc Pro model...which starts at a 48 and would be far too big for me.

Believe me, it's way better than it was 20-30 years ago.
Part of the problem with 'cross bikes, I think, is that they can't have a sloping top tube because there wouldn't be enough clearance to carry the bike over the shoulder. Compact frame geometry has created smaller frames that weren't possible years ago, but no-one is going to make a cross frame like that.
edited to add: Probably not quite what you had in mind, but this 'cross frame goes down to 42cm:
http://www.somafab.com/archives/prod...ble-cross-disc

[zoom-zoom]

Believe me, it's way better than it was 20-30 years ago.
Part of the problem with 'cross bikes, I think, is that they can't have a sloping top tube because there wouldn't be enough clearance to carry the bike over the shoulder. Compact frame geometry has created smaller frames that weren't possible years ago, but no-one is going to make a cross frame like that.
edited to add: Probably not quite what you had in mind, but this 'cross frame goes down to 42cm:
http://www.somafab.com/archives/prod...ble-cross-disc

That is lovely. What gets me is that my bike has the most amazing geometry for me (aside from toe-overlap, but I even know bigger guys who run into that), but Redline will only do that frame in low-end models. I guess it's not profitable for them to do carbon molds of that geometry, simply because they wouldn't sell enough of that smallest size. It's NBD for them to do that with aluminum and low-end components.

[MarieV]

Kirsten, the Ridley X-Fire comes in a 41 (45 cm seat tube and 502 mm top tube).

http://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/r...re-disc-review
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/ri...-complete-bike

Wahine, sorry about hijacking your thread, so those of us who are vertically challenged can vent.

[zoom-zoom]

Kirsten, the Ridley X-Fire comes in a 41 (45 cm seat tube and 502 mm top tube).

Yeah...unfortunately the only shop near us that carries it are sorta sworn enemies -- they fired "our guy" just before Christmas...ugly politics and they've alienated a lot of long-time area cyclists in the wake of that. As a result we're actually in the process of opening a new shop with our friend and 2 other friends (using some of the money DH inherited when his grandma died early this year -- couldn't think of a better way to invest that, really!). So far the lines we're likely to carry (trying not to duplicate too many other shops in the region) don't offer a lot of CX bikes for shorties. At this point custom is my likeliest route...which still sorta sits weird with me. I know it's my own insecurities, but I can't help but feel like my relatively slow, relatively casual riding doesn't "deserve" a $$ custom frame, even though I have legitimate reasons for going that route. I'm still bummed that I can't get a higher-end carbon Redline with discs, since that would be perfect (and probably half what a comparable custom will cost). My low-rent Redline is my very favorite bike. It fits like it was made for me.

[Wahine]

At this point custom is my likeliest route...which still sorta sits weird with me. I know it's my own insecurities, but I can't help but feel like my relatively slow, relatively casual riding doesn't "deserve" a $$ custom frame, even though I have legitimate reasons for going that route. I'm still bummed that I can't get a higher-end carbon Redline with discs, since that would be perfect (and probably half what a comparable custom will cost). My low-rent Redline is my very favorite bike. It fits like it was made for me.

Zoom, you are exactly the kind of person that should buy a custom bike. You know exactly what you want and you ride. That's all that matters. The fact that you have some difficult fitting issues just makes it even more important that you buy custom if you can. And, a custom cross bike doesn't have to be more expensive than a production bike. It's all in the build. You can order the custom frame and everything else you can buy and build up through your shop at wholesale prices. I built a very inexpensive custom cross bike. It's heavy as all get out, but that has more to do with the build than the frame. IMHO it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend a lot on a cross bike build since you ride those bikes in horrible conditions and have to replace parts frequently.