After nearly three years with my Giant, I finally got around to having her fitted. The LBS I went to does the Specialized BG Fit system. The fitter/mechanic-in-chief and I determined that while I am absurdly flexible, I have wonky knees that tend to track inward rather than in a straight line. So he spent a very long time fiddling with seat-post height, insoles, shimming and cleat positioning. I think it was at least an hour. It seems that I have a microdiscrepancy in leg length, which made it take a lot longer. Then we moved on to the rest of the bike--he actually moved spacers around to drop the bars a bit, then gave me a shorter stem.

The stem was the only part that we replaced, since I mentioned upfront that I'd have to do anything else piecemeal, being a poor student. He recommended eventually switching pedals to either Speedplays or SPD-SLs (something with a shorter spindle), narrower bars (38cm vs the 40cm that the bike came with), and possibly a zero-setback seatpost if the knee pain doesn't resolve. He also recommended that my next bike/drivetrain upgrade be a compact double. I haven't had a chance to test out the changes, since the pollen counts are too high for me to take it out for a decent ride and be comfortable.

I noticed they had a Cannondale CAAD10 in my size. I asked if I could take it for a test ride. Wow. Color me impressed. Very smooth ride without feeling dead, corners beautifully (within my "chicken" parameters), and I know it would be fast if I wanted it to be. There was a little "but this isn't MY bike!" going on at the beginning, but by the end of the ride that had vanished. The fitter actually said "I think you've found your next bike. You looked very comfortable on it." I think I may have found my next bike. I haven't had a chance to test the Ruby yet, but the CAAD10 exists at a much friendlier price point...(Shh, don't tell my Giant.)