What Road bike to buy Men or Womens?

[carolinagirl]

Hi,

I need some input on what would be the right road bike for me. I am 5'8 1/2 tall I have been measured for a men's and women's bike at 54". My concern is that I do have scoliosis ( Curvature of the spine) which most of my pain is in between my shoulder blades. I love the way the (mens)specialized Alliez series bike looks and have tried to be fitted for the bike. But it seems we could not work out the issues of extended elbows. I have also tried a Giant OCR W but it seems that my reach is to close.

Any Suggestion?

Thank You,
Cheryl

[kermit]

It sounds like your headed in the right direction. Try as many bike as you can. I am about your size and have a Specialized roubaix comp. Did they try a shorter stem with the allez? You could also try smaller bars. I changed mine from the stock bars to the ruby. What a difference! If you stay with an aluminum frame, make sure to have either the zertzs(Specialized) or carbon seat stays and fork. This willk help absorb the road shock and not kill your back and shoulders. Hope that helps. Keep us updated. Good luck.

[aicabsolut]

Well, the Specialized (men's) top tube will be something like 54.8cm for size 54. If the women's bike seems too short of a reach, you can try a couple of things. First, you can try using a shorter stem on the Specialized or a longer stem on the women's bike. You can try going down to a 52cm bike with Specialized and then making adjustments for your height. You could also go with a different men's bike that would have a shorter top tube. That may be a 52 or 54, depending on the manufacturer. Some 54s will be closer to 54cm in the top tube. With some bikes, they'll be in the 55+ range, so you'd want to go down a size to be in the 53+ range. You might also want to look at some 56 women's bikes, since some of them tend to run about a size down from the men's. For example, the 56 Ruby will have the same top tube length as the 54 Roubaix (and so be the same there as the Allez). You may also want to look at the Roubaix instead of the Allez if you're looking for Specialized bikes, because the taller and less aggressive head tube of the Roubaix will have some impact on your reach (put you slightly more upright). There are other bikes with similar more "relaxed" geometry in other manufacturers (Orbea, Cervelo, Cannondale, etc.), though they are still good performance frames. Often, these bikes fit women really well when women's bikes are too compact for them and racier men's frames are too aggressive.

[Jiffer]

I'm 5'9" and ride a Cannondale CAAD 8 in a 54 size, which is not a women specific frame. Fits me great.

[BikerDar]

Hi there,
if you have short legs and a long torso, you are built more like a man, that's my situation. I'm 5 7 and both my steel and my ti are 52 with some tweaks to the stem length and handlebar width.

[Geonz]

RIde both kinds - see which fit