Choosing a bike, seat, shoes

[kelownagirl]

Hi there-

You are definitely doing all the right homework! And getting out and RIDING bikes, most importantly. I could offer a few suggestions that would take priority for me, personally.
1- carbon DOES make a difference. If a full carbon frame is out of your price range, consider a bike w/a carbon fork, consider buying a 2nd hand higher level bike, or consider upping your price! It may be a sacrifice now, but you will be loving this bike for many years to come.
2- at your height, you could do a WSD frame. This is more of an issue for women with smaller hands, shorter torso/leg length. etc. I am 5'6" and find WSD frames don't fit me well. And -- manufacturers will sometimes skimp on the components for similar models when offering a WSD vs. standard. At least that was the case when I was researching this a year ago with TREK.
3- at 1000-1500 you are probably looking at Shimano 105, maybe some Ultegra. I would go the extra yard to get the Ultegra. You won't regret it!

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Thank you so much! I am learning a lots about components etc too. I have noticed that several bikes I have tried had Shimano 105. So Ultegra is the next step up?

As for the carbon, I am trying to focus on the bikes that have carbon seat post and forks. I am willing to up my price a little but it looks like the full carbon frame bikes are at least a $500-750 (Can) increase in price ($2200-2500). Do I really deserve to buy myself a really expensive bike when I've only been riding for 3 months? I don't know, it seems like I should kind of work my way up, you know?

One salesman told me - about full carbon frames - that it is often better to buy a really good bike with really good components within my price range, than to move up to the entry-level full carbon frame and end up with the lower end carbon and lesser components. I just don't know what to believe...

Sadly, I have not seen a single used road bike yet - I am certainly willing to buy a good used road bike to get the upgrade.

One thing about WSD - the last bike shop I went to tried to convince me that if I start with the right sized frame, he can make just about any bike fit me. He felt that although WSD bikes are good for some women, for the most part, they are just hype and that by changing the stems etc, he can do the same thing. He does have WSD bikes there so it wasn't like he was just trying to do a sales job. It's so hard to separate the info from the sales pitch though.

Last point - I've really been having problems reaching the brakes. I dont' think I have particularly small hands and my fingers are fairly long but when I'm in the drops, my fingertips barely get around the brakes. DH says I won't be using the drop brakes all that much and he figures it's something we may be able to adjust but I'm just wondering if that is common. I also feel like it's a stretch to reach the brakes on the hoods. Is that normal or does it just take some getting used to? (Oooh, listen to me talking about "drops" and "hoods" etc. like I knew all this a week ago - I just laugh at myself sometimes...)

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. I really appreciate any information I can find on this site. Real women, real bikes... I have one more bike shop in town to try and then I'm going to try the Bike Barn in the town an hour away. Maybe I'll end up having to go to Vancouver to find what I want.

barb

[mimitabby]

Thank you so much! I am learning a lots about components etc too.
...

Sadly, I have not seen a single used road bike yet - I am certainly willing to buy a good used road bike to get the upgrade.


Last point - I've really been having problems reaching the brakes. I dont' think I have particularly small hands and my fingers are fairly long but when I'm in the drops, my fingertips barely get around the brakes. DH says I won't be using the drop brakes all that much and he figures it's something we may be able to adjust but I'm just wondering if that is common. I also feel like it's a stretch to reach the brakes on the hoods. Is that normal or does it just take some getting used to? (Oooh, listen to me talking about "drops" and "hoods" etc. like I knew all this a week ago - I just laugh at myself sometimes...)


barb

Hey Barb, Check out ebay for used bikes. where do you live?(oops, I see you live in BC) You can look on Craig's list too.

I have the same problem with those drop brakes, but i am in the process of getting fitted to my new Bianchi with campy components, so i hope that problem will become a thing of the past as soon as the parts come in.

what does the DH mean you won't be reaching for them???

[kelownagirl]

Hey Barb, Check out ebay for used bikes. where do you live?(oops, I see you live in BC) You can look on Craig's list too.

I have the same problem with those drop brakes, but i am in the process of getting fitted to my new Bianchi with campy components, so i hope that problem will become a thing of the past as soon as the parts come in.

what does the DH mean you won't be reaching for them???

I live in Kelowna, 4 hours east of Vancouver BC. Ebay can sometimes be tough since most of the stuff there is american but it's worth a try. I did check out craig's list but I think I need to have a better idea of what I want first.

What are "campy" components? Is it a brand? Are they smaller or ?

I think Erik just means that I would probably spend way more time with my hands on the hoods than the drops so it might not be as big a concern. I guess I'll have to wait and see. I'm definitely going to talk to the salespeople and ask about it before I buy though.

[susanm8048]

I was reading on another discussion board that you should be wary of buying a second hand carbon bike. The reason being that you never really know if it has been in a crash. They were concerned that there might be cracks in the frame that are not visible to the naked eye and that could compromise safety.

I have no idea if this is true or not but as we were discussing the option of second hand bikes, I thought I would open it up for debate.

[Nanci]

Maybe you should look at the Trek WSD 1500 and 2200. The 1500 is $1200 MSRP, the 2200 is $1900 MSRP. Both have carbon forks and seat posts, the 2200 has carbon seatstays as well. I'm 5'2", and have the 2005 2100, 47", with 650 wheels that they changed to 700 on the 2200, and the 2200 has better components, but they are basically the same, and I _love_ my bike- it's perfect!!! I love the smaller handlebars and whatever they did to the brakes/shifters to make them easy to reach. I don't believe WSD bikes are just hype- for one thing, the geometry is supposed to be different. Sure you could change the cranks/bars/brakes/shifters etc, but that's a lot more expensive than just starting out with a bike that has those things in a smaller size.

Nanci

[kelownagirl]

Maybe you should look at the Trek WSD 1500 and 2200. The 1500 is $1200 MSRP, the 2200 is $1900 MSRP. Both have carbon forks and seat posts, the 2200 has carbon seatstays as well. I'm 5'2", and have the 2005 2100, 47", with 650 wheels that they changed to 700 on the 2200, and the 2200 has better components, but they are basically the same, and I _love_ my bike- it's perfect!!! I love the smaller handlebars and whatever they did to the brakes/shifters to make them easy to reach. I don't believe WSD bikes are just hype- for one thing, the geometry is supposed to be different. Sure you could change the cranks/bars/brakes/shifters etc, but that's a lot more expensive than just starting out with a bike that has those things in a smaller size.

Nanci

Thanks Nanci, I think I did try the Trek 1500 on my first day. I've been planning to back and look at it again more seriously so I'll try to do that this week. At that point, I hadn't learned about the carbon, and the various components so I need to check it out. Your comments about the WSD bikes make sense to me.

What do you think about the more "upright" comfortable bikes like the Specialized Sequoia? Have you tried them?

barb