Trying to find a bike for my wife

[RoadRaven]

Hey there ss, what kind of cycling does your wife want to do? That will help us with your question.

Road racing?
Mountain biking?
Criteriums?
Time Trials?
Commuting?

[ss_ridgerunner]

Hey there ss, what kind of cycling does your wife want to do? That will help us with your question.

Road racing?
Mountain biking?
Criteriums?
Time Trials?
Commuting?

She would mostly be doing high intensity group and solo road rides. She wants a bike that she could race on should the notion strike her. That means road races and crits around here, not too many time trials.

[Pedal Wench]

I have two Cannondale r1000 wsd bikes. Love them, but the rumours that Cannondales have a somewhat harsh ride is true. They handle very well, and are quite fast. I did change out the seatpost and added padding to the handlebars to try to soften up the ride - it worked rather well. I don't ride them as much lately only because I upgraded to carbon and Campy.

[salsabike]

I needed a top tube 50.5-51.5 cm, and got a size 50 Bianchi Eros Donna, which I love passionately---very smooth ride, fits perfectly. http://www.bianchiusa.com/06_eros_donna.html

I did also try a Specialized Dolce, which also comes in a size that would fit your wife, but liked the ride of the Bianchi much better. Also prefer the Campy shifters on the Bianchi (Dolce comes with Shimano shifters, harder for smaller hands to use).