"She who succeeds in gaining the master of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life." -Frances E. Willard
My Cycling Blog | Requisite Bike Pics | Join the Team Estrogen group at Velog.com
LOL That's who I went to see yesterday. She was great! She kept saying it wasn't my fault but honestly I do feel guilty because I didn't go to a reputable bike shop and instead went to a chainy store. So among other things I'm dealing with that emotional turmoil right now.
"She who succeeds in gaining the master of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life." -Frances E. Willard
My Cycling Blog | Requisite Bike Pics | Join the Team Estrogen group at Velog.com
Can anyone tell me anything about the fit of the Bianchi Volpe? I am thinking about getting a cross bike, not for cyclocross but for taking my daughter on rides in the trailer. We live really close to both a paved trail and a gravel trail, and the gravel trail connects to a better part of the paved trail, so it would be really handy to have a bike that could handle both surfaces without weighing a ton like my mountain bike. I have a friend with a baby the same age who plans to use her cross bike for pulling her trailer, so it seems like a good fit for my purposes and for riding together.
I don't want to spend a fortune on this bike and the Volpe seems like a good price point, but it might be a big pain to test ride one so I want to know something about the fit before I go hunt one down to test out.
My husband has ridden a Volpe for the last 5 years for both road & trail. He has been extremely satisfied with bike. I ride rail trail some and a mountain bike is overkill IMHO plus I like the drop handlebars so I can vary my hand position. Therefore, I also purchased a Volpe this Christmas just for rail trail and longer tours where I cart extra gear with me. I had a 44 ordered and it fits me quite nicely. My Trek is a 47 for comparison. My LBS worked with me to get the fit to approximate my road bike as closely as possible. Can't wait to take her out if the snow ever ends ...
Susan
Try not. Do or do not... there is no try.
Yoda
2004 Airborne WASP (road)/Selle An-Atomica
2010 Bike Friday New World Tourist (commuter)/Selle An-Atomica
2010 Bike Friday Pocket Rocket Pro/Selle An-Atomica
That's an interesting size comparison! Could you tell me whether it was more of an issue of the reach or an issue of standover/height that made you need to downsize?
For what it's worth...
I test rode a Bianchi Axis last summer. I'm 5'4" and the 44cm was too small (scrunched up), yet the 49cm's reach was a bit too long.
It was both reach & standover. I have attached the geometry of my two bikes for comparison. 28.5 inches is about the maximum I can take in standover- short legs and long torso.
Susan
Try not. Do or do not... there is no try.
Yoda
2004 Airborne WASP (road)/Selle An-Atomica
2010 Bike Friday New World Tourist (commuter)/Selle An-Atomica
2010 Bike Friday Pocket Rocket Pro/Selle An-Atomica
Thank you, very helpful!
I just bought a Ridley Crossbow. I believe it's a slightly taller bike, but I absolutely love it. Ridley is another brand with great cross bikes at different price ranges. Good luck!